Life After Death
by Random3
Summary: AU. Sequel to Fight the Good Fight. I advice you read that first. So...Prue's dead, Andy's back, Piper's pregnant....will it be the same?
1. The Aftermath

A/N: Hello all.

As promised, the sequel to Fight the Good Fight.

Disclaimer; Funny enough, I still don't own it, well anything you recognise.

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Life After Death.

1. The Aftermath

Walking past the Halliwell Manor, nobody would have suspected that the people inside were in utter turmoil. From outside the air was colder than usual but it didn't compare to the freezing temperature the house itself held.

The silence was deafening. Although noises could be heard, it was the lack of conversation and everyday general sounds that was causing the ear ringing quietness.

The people inside were trying to digest their sudden loss. Memories flashed throughout their thoughts but nothing made sense anymore. The death of Prue Halliwell, didn't make sense.

Unable to stand the sight that laid in the room, many of the family left and headed downstairs. All who remained in the room was a comatose Piper, a concerned and saddened Leo and a distraught Andy.

----------

Phoebe walked outside to the backyard and stood, looking up at the sky, while wrapping her arms around herself, rubbing them against the chill.

Suddenly she released the heavy sob that had been longing to escape since trying to comfort Paige. _This can't be happening, it just can't, _she thought.

She buried her face in her hands and slid down the wall, letting out all her tears.

"Phoebe." Cole called softly, kneeling down next to her. Without any more words, Phoebe pulled him close and hung on tightly round his neck, needing someone else to lean on.

----------

Paige sat huddled close to Glen, unable to stop the onslaught of tears that seemed to have a continual flow and felt as though they would never dry.

She couldn't shake the feeling that part of her had been ripped away roughly, leaving a huge gouge that hurt and couldn't be replaced.

At her moment of need, her magic had failed her. For all of the power she supposedly possessed, she was unable to prevent the catastrophe that had shaken the family to it's core. Guilt was also weighing heavily on her shoulders, selfish she knew, but it was still present and undeniable.

Glen watched her, very rarely would Paige show how she felt to him. Although they hardly had a secret between them, Paige would mask part of herself, scared he might laugh. Now there was no guard, no front. She was vulnerable and very little else mattered.

Darryl stood to one side of the room, devastated and confused. Not only was his good friend dead, but his former partner and best friend was sat upstairs, having been dead for the past two years.

Questions raced through his mind, he wanted to pat his buddy on the back and tell him how great it was to see him again. He wouldn't though, how could it be great when he knew Andy was in severe pain. The entire house was.

Victor Bennett had more than guilt playing inside of him. She had promised to bring them back with or without her, she had made that promise to him. A promise he wished she had never even considered. _Am I the one to push her that far? _he asked himself.

He glanced up at his ex-wife. They had lost their little girl, their first child. Patty may get to be with Prue everyday now, but it was not wanted that way. Prue barely had the chance to live, to grow. He had caused that. They had caused that.

Victor looked down at the paper he held in his hand, creased and wrinkled. He held it so tight, he swore the print had rubbed on to his skin, leaving a permanent stain that embedded into his soul. _Why did she have to write this? _he selfishly thought.

Slowly, he stood from the couch he had fell unconsciously onto and proceeded to Patty, who had Penny close by. The mother of the Charmed Ones had tears rolling down her cheeks but they were silent now.

He sat down next to her and, doing something he hadn't done in years, he wrapped her in his arms. "I'm so sorry." he whispered.

Patty didn't reply, she was numb. She couldn't even register what he had said. However she noticed her mother tense beside her and before she could prevent it, Penny Halliwell responded for her daughter.

"So you should be." there was no mistaking the spite in her voice or the believe in her words.

"Mother." Patty scolded, wondering when this would end. It wasn't bad enoughher daughterhad diedbut to have to listen to the two of them bickering seemed unthinkable.

"What are you suggesting?" Victor asked, bristling at the edges. She had always been able to irritate him….even in death.

"You are well aware of what I am suggesting," Penny spat, eyeing the man in disgust. "If you had not condemned Prue for the decision, maybe she would still be here."

"Me?" Victor replied, knowing she was right but the bluntness in her words burned him and his only reaction was to fight back. "What about you? If you had not put so much focus on their _destiny, _and allowed Prue to live the life she wanted rather than the one you dictated, maybe she would still be here."

Paige sat up but still remained in Glen's arms. She didn't want this, they had just lost Prue, arguing was not the solution.

"Would you two please….." Patty started, however, she was cut off as her mother jumped in.

"Dictated? It was far from dictated. Had you stayed around, you may have realised that."

Victor snarled, knowing the old woman knew she had hit a sore spot. "I would have at least let Prue and the rest of my girls have the life they deserved. Not this warped sense of justice and conviction, that claims more lives than it deserves too."

"Stop it!"

The room turned to the entrance, where Phoebe stood with Cole behind her. Her eyes were red and puffy but anger seemed to be apparent now than any other emotion.

"Just stop it!" she continued, clearly showing she was not impressed by their actions. "Prue is dead. Okay. Dead…..and all you can do is fight! This family has done enough of that today and for a lifetime."

Everyone in the room listened, while Victor and Penny both grew ashamed of themselves. Phoebe, however, still continued to glare at the two, completely disgusted.

"Now if you don't mind, I've lost one sister today and I'm scared I'm going to lose another because if you actually stopped blaming each other and looked around, you'd notice that Piper has not left that room….nor has she even let go off Prue's hand." she finished and turned from them all, heading for the stairs.

Paige and Patty both got up and followed Phoebe, also not impressed by the Halliwell matriarch and her ex-son-in-law. Glen and Cole followed but kept a distance, allowing the sisters and their mother some space.

Before Phoebe reached the stairs to make her way up them, Darryl grabbed her arm gently. "Phoebe," he stated softly. "We need to call…."

"I know Darryl," she replied in the same tone. "..but I need Piper to leave her side before I can do that."

The Inspector nodded solemnly, then released her arm so she could continue up the stairs. He waited until Cole and Glen had gone before him, then he followed.

Penny and Victor looked at each other than glanced away again.

"I think they will need you." Victor finally stated and stood up again, offering his hand to the deceased witch.

"Far from it. They don't need me, they need each other." she replied, accepting his hand.

----------

Phoebe gently opened the door, to show a room covered in shadow. It felt as if it held no life anymore, that the comfort and safety of her older sister's room was a thing of the past.

Carefully she stepped in to find Piper still huddled by the bed side and Leo sat nearby, incapable of removing his apprehensive eyes from his wife. Andy was sat silently on the other side of the bed, looking distantly and pensive.

Then her eyes trailed to the still form lying on the bed, the sight was sickening. Phoebe glanced away quickly and proceeded to Piper. She was aware that her mum and Paige had walked in behind her but at the moment she was more worried about her older sister.

"Piper, honey." she spoke gently, kneeling down next to her sister. However she didn't receive anything in response. In desperation Phoebe looked for help, her eyes searching for those of her younger sister.

Paige caught on and came to their side, wanting to leave the room as quickly as possible. "Piper, we need to call…." she found herself not able to complete her sentence as a choke escaped instead.

Andy glanced towards the three sisters and felt his heart rise into his throat. _They need her, we all do. _he thought.

Phoebe placed her hand on top of Piper's that held Prue's. "Piper, please."

The begging sound of her sister's voice caught the original middle child's attention and slowly she moved her eyes, focusing on Phoebe's face.

"It's all of our fault." she mumbled, glancing up at the bed, then back to Phoebe. "He knew."

"Piper, what are you talking about? Who knew?" Paige asked softly.

"The Source…he knew her weakness."

"Sweetie…" Phoebe smoothed, placing a strand of her sister's hair behind her ear.

The room was once again full with people as they all held in their breath, waiting for Piper to continue but equally scared of what she might say. Andy, however, already knew what she had meant. He had been there when the Source had told Prue, herself.

"She told us evil would exploit our weaknesses…and…h..he knew hers." she stated barely above a whisper. "He knew she would sacrifice herself…for us, to protect us…..and he used me as bait."

Piper was pulled into a hug by Phoebe and Paige, as she finally succumbed to the guilt and distress she had felt. She also let go off her older sister's hand, wrapping her arms around her younger sisters.

Others in the room watched on with heavy hearts. None of this was right, it seemed too surreal.

In the back of each of the sisters minds was a nagging thought that there would never be a four way hug again, and the missing person was noticeably absent in the embrace. Nothing would be the same again.

Suddenly a gasp of breath was heard and the entire room turned to the sound. There Prue Halliwell breathed.

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A/N: Dum, dum, dum...

Thanks for all the support for Fight the Good Fight, and all the reviews and thereally really really nice things you said...even though you guys didn't like me for what I did, lol.

But all will be answered somewhere along the line, and maybe a few more questions.

Let me know what you think thou. bye.


	2. Breathing on Two Feet

A/N: So...apparently, you guys aren't keen on cliff-hangers, lol.

I couldn't leave it too long, I'd get a guilt complex.

Never fear, it's here..

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2. Breathing On Two Feet. 

"Oh my God!" Phoebe screeched, stumbling backwards as she pulled back from the bed, along with everyone else in the room. Out of surprise and shock, they had all jumped back, distancing themselves from the cause of their scare.

Moments ago, they had been contemplating a life without her and now Prue was sat up slightly, breathing heavily. Pain plagued her features as she concentrated on the wound that refused to stop bleeding now that her heart was beating again.

"Leo, heal her." Cole instructed, as nobody else seemed to notice her obvious predicament.

The whitelighter shook his head slightly, trying to clear his frenzied mind, then rapidly moved to his eldest sister-in-law. His hands began to glow as he placed them over her impaled stomach. He smiled somewhat to himself, glad it had the desired effect this time.

The room watched and they all moved in closer, as the wound began to heal. Smiles and a few tears of joy radiated from their faces, noticing the colour return to Prue's features.

Piper, however, held back and her face was a complete mask, neither joy nor sadness could be seen. It was as if she was emotionless and distant. Minutes ago, she couldn't bare the thought of leaving Prue's side but now she moved towards the walls, cursing them for being in the way.

Her older sister's breathing regulated and Prue fell back onto the bed, with her eyes closed. Leo's healing faded and all that remained of the critical wound was a small scar.

Leo was slightly puzzled by the mark, usually healing would leave nothing to show there was ever any damage. He pulled back, waiting for what might happen next, along with the rest of the family.

Prue coughed softly twice, still keeping her eyes closed. "Well that was painful." she muttered, not realising the amount of anxious faces that were all focused on her.

"Prue?" Paige asked timidly, trying her best not to pounce on her sister and never let her go.

Prue eyes fluttered open briefly at the sound of her baby sisters voice. She smiled warmly, "Hey Missy Paige." her eyes closed for a moment again, trying to hide the need to rest. "Did you clean the demon goo up, like I told you to?"

She found if she didn't joke, the tension alone my just kill her all over again.

Phoebe and Paige exchanged glances and grins, both knowing it was their sister. In that moment, the two younger Halliwells bombarded Prue's bed, climbing all over her and insuring she would never be leaving.

"Your back, your back, your back…..Never do that to me again. Never." Phoebe warned in all seriousness. She was also trying to ignore the how part, that was nagging at her.

"Pheebs, for that…to happen, you…kinda need to…get off me." Prue exhaustedly managed to get out, while Phoebe clambered over her.

Phoebe moved to the side of Prue instead and sat next to Paige, who, although equally as excited, was able to contain herself, in the room filled with people.

Patty was beaming, walking over towards her eldest daughter and kissed her forehead, to which she received a toothy grin in response.

Searching the room, Prue's eyes met Andy's, after bypassing her father's. Andy's face showed how delighted he was, unable to keep the grin away.

"Your not one to stay dead, are you?" he joked, remembering the incident not long after he found out about the witchyness in her life.

"It's not in my nature." she smiled, with a small shrug. Then she pushed herself into a sitting position, glancing over the room again, taking in the noticeable absence of Piper. "Where's…"

Before she could finish her sentence, the bedroom slammed shut, signalling the departure of her sister.

Not wasting another second, Prue stood quickly and wobbled a little.

"Whooow." she commented, as she balanced herself carefully.

"Prudence, you should be resting." her grandmother told her.

"No, no. Got to talk to Piper." Prue argued, as she left the room after her younger sister.

"Will she ever listen?" Grams rhetorically asked to an almost empty room, since they had began to follow the oldest Halliwell sisters.

----------

"Krolan," one Elder boomed. "..this is unacceptable behaviour. You have granted Prudence Halliwell life, when death had already stepped in. You, as well as ourselves, are forbidden to interfere with his design."

Currently, Krolan was facing off with the other Elders. Some praised his decision, others secretly did and a few would rather cut out their own tongue out, then admit he had done the right thing.

"In all due respect," he replied carefully, "You know, just as well as myself, that deaths design changes ever second and I believed Prue had the right to be spared of his _grand design, _because you know with out her the Charmed Ones no longer exist"

"_Prudence _Halliwell is not above the law of death, Krolan." another reprimanded, not hiding the distaste to Krolan's use of Prue, rather than Prudence.

"I know this, but she was not destined to die in that battle." the younger Elder argued. "..and if I had not intervened, who knows the repercussions it could have had on the future."

"But you are unaware of the repercussions you may have caused, yourself." an Elder to his left added.

Krolan released a heavy sigh. "Look the decision was made and has now been processed, so if you plan on punishing me for my actions, then do so."

He really didn't care what they planned to do to him, as long as Prue was alive he wouldn't mind. _It's not like they can just take her life away, that would be against their own lore, _he thought to himself. _…and the magical community would be in uproar, if they tried to take a life. _

"Maybe your relationship with Prudence has clouded your judgement, Krolan." the first Elder replied.

"The only relationship I have with _Prue _Halliwell is one of friendship and trust, and if that has clouded my judgement, then so be it…at least the world is safer for it." Krolan glared in response, trying to hide the hurt at admitting it was only a friendship.

"You stand for your believes and I admire that, but it is undeniable that your _friendship _with the Charmed One was an influential aspect that would not have been present in someone else's decision." one spoke.

"And considering the circumstances, I wouldn't have changed it." Krolan replied confidently. "I have prolonged the Charmed destiny, for not only the worlds benefit but your own, unless you would like to inform them that their services are no longer required."

The opposed Elder's grew quiet and became indignant at what he was implying, with a challenging tone.

"You may leave, Krolan…but do not consider this matter closed." one of them announced.

Krolan bowed his head slightly, then turned away and smiled to himself. He knew it was not over but for now he had somewhere else to be.

---------

"Piper!" Prue called reaching the bottom of the stairs, just as her sister was heading for the kitchen. However, her call did little to stop the pregnant witch. "Piper, wait. Piper."

Prue grabbed hold of Piper's arm, stopping her from moving any further.

Piper spun at the touch, "What?" she asked harshly, pulling her arm free from Prue's grasp.

The oldest Halliwell felt as though she had been stabbed all over again, but this time it burned deeper than a mere blade. Sorrow was not the first emotion to spring to her, instead it was anger.

"A 'Hi, it's good to see your alright', wouldn't go a miss." she snapped.

"It wouldn't…but I don't care." Piper responded and she tried to get away, only to be gripped by the same hand she had clung to earlier.

"Well I do, now what the hell is wrong with you?" Prue irately asked.

The rest of the family were now gathered on the stairs, bewildered by the current argument. Leo tried to get past and comfort Piper, but he was held back by Paige and Phoebe. They didn't like the argument but it was clear, that the two older Halliwells needed to sort this out for themselves. Any interference may cause further rifts.

"Nothing is wrong with me." Piper retorted, glaring at the accusing manner her sister had used. Finally, she pulled herself free again and turned to leave.

"You could fool me. What is your problem? That I'm not dead?" Prue argued with Piper's back, feeling the annoyance of her sister's action boiling under her skin.

Piper stopped at Prue's words but chose to keep her back to her.

"…'Cause you know," the eldest continued. "I could call the Source up, tell him 'my sister didn't like the job you did, so would you be a pal and come and finish it off.'"

Tears slid down Piper's cheeks, although she had believed there was little left to be released. Her older sister's words were like bullets flying at her chest. She was mad at Prue, but that didn't mean she wanted her dead…or that she wanted to face her sister and pretend everything was perfect.

"..If you really want," Prue was riled up now and found she had little control over what was coming out of her mouth. "..I could ask for decapitation, little messy, but it'll be unlikely I'll come back."

Phoebe moved down the last couple of steps, feeling the arguing had reached a level she found unsettling. Rarely would the two argue to this degree and she didn't want to stand there and witness it.

She was about to have her input, until Piper span back round, showing the fresh tears and red eyes.

"Stop it!" Piper shouted.

"Why? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"You don't get it, do you?" she spat back.

"What I don't get is what have I done to make you hate me so damn much!" Prue retaliated, somewhat happy she had finally got a reaction from Piper.

"I had to watch you die!" the younger sister yelled.

"What do you think I was doing when you had aurora fever or when I had to get the essence out by killing you myself? Knitting?"

Piper paled very slightly, having not thought about that. "That was different."

"How?…because you had to watch this time. I'm sorry Piper, but I would do it again if I had to." Prue replied a lot more calmer.

"But it didn't work. You didn't kill the Source, he was still able to flame out…." before she could finish, Prue cut her off.

"I don't care about the damn Source, Piper. I wanted _all _of my family safe. Their future safe."

Leo watched the two and noticed how his wife instinctively and protectively placed a hand over her stomach. A flashback of the battle, withPiper's self-healing, played through his mind.

"Yeah, well he knew that." Piper retorted, oblivious to the people on the stairs or the scrutinizing look her husband sent her.

"So did I. He had already told me and I probably knew before he did. It's who I am." Prue answered, still trying to work out why Piper was so angry.

"That makes it okay for you to die?" her sister was unable to hide to noticeable choke in her voice.

"If it protects you, yes." Prue used the matter of fact tone, most had heard before.

Piper moved forward, until she was face to face with her sister, "Even though you promised." she replied. "You promised me you wouldn't do anything stupid."

Paige watched, worried that one of them will explode. She had come accustom to fights like this from Prue and Phoebe….but Piper and Prue, was slightly scary.

"I didn't though. He was waiting for me, I knew that." Prue looked straight into Piper's eyes, trying her best to work out what was wrong. "What's really the problem?...Would you just tell me?" she finally snapped.

"You promised!" Piper yelled back but was not given the chance to continue, as Prue argued.

"I didn't do anything stupid."

"You promised…" Piper spat in response and pushed Prue ever so slightly, trying to make her listen and see sense. Her sister barely moved and in defence crossed her arms over her chest. "..You promised you would never leave, like everyone else. You promised me."

She nudged Prue more, wanting her sisterto understand. "..Everyone else has walked in and out of my life but you have always been there. You promised you wouldn't leave….and you did. You did!" Piper pushed, then found her arms held gentle but firmly, by Prue.

"Let go, let go." she shouted, tears returning as frustration took over.

"No." Prue replied resolutely, as she watched her younger sister and noticed the stray tear to fall down her own face.

"Let go."

"No, Piper, I'm not letting you go, okay. I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying." she kept her voice low, so onlyher sistercould hear her.

"But you did…" Piper whispered back. "You left and you weren't supposed to….not without me." and at that moment, she fell apart and landed in Prue's arms.

Phoebe felt a wave of sadness and regret wash over her. She had known how close the two were, but to hear her sister speak of everyone's desertions pained her. The original youngest had never regretted going to New York, until now.

Piper and Prue had falling to their knees, while the rest watched one. "I was, Piper." Prue whispered, stroking her sisters hair. "You can't believe your life ends when someone else's does, sweetie. You have to make them proud that you can find the strength to carry on."

"I couldn't cope if you weren't here." Piper mumbled.

"Yes you could, you have more strength then you give yourself credit for Piper. You would be great at it."

"I wouldn't."

"Yes you would. I'd make you." Prue threatened playfully. "I'd make sure you were…and I'll come back to keep Phoebe and Paige in check too." she smiled, when she heard what could have only been a soft laugh come from Piper. "You wouldn't lose me that easily, Piper….not without a fight."

Piper pulled away and smiled delicately, having lost the resentment and majority of the anger.

"You okay?" Prue asked with a small smile, to which Piper nodded.Eventually she offered a hand as she stood from the floor, happy when Piper accepted.

Paige and Phoebe walked down, glad it seemed to have been resolved.

"You have no idea how unbelievably happy I am, right about now." Paige grinned, leaning comfortably on Prue's shoulder. While Phoebe hugged Piper close, incapable of shrugging offthe thought that she had been a cause to some of Piper's pain.

"I don't know, I'll challenge you on that." Prue laughed, wrapping an arm tightly round her baby sister.

Phoebe studied Prue for a short amount of time, as the rest emerged from the stairs while the air around them settled.

"You okay, Prue? I mean being back and all." Phoebe asked, keeping close to Piper.

"Never better.." the eldest grinned, "..it's great. I'm breathing on my own two feet."

"Breathing on your own two feet?" Andy asked, grinning back towards her.

"Yep, it's funny the things you miss…" she looked thoughtful for a brief moment. "..but now I'm back and I'm not going anywhere." she added, looking towards Piper, to reassure her.

_I hope that applies to you too, Mr Trudeau, _Prue thought, knowing the Lighter would get the message. She knew he did, when his smile broadened and she caught his eye.

"How did you get back, though?" Cole asked, bringing everyone to a thoughtful state.

Prue looked puzzled at her own lack of knowledge. "I'm not sure…I just kinda am." she answered, although unhappy with her response.

"Maybe I can help."

Krolan walked into the room, gaining all of their attentions.

* * *

A/N: You guys didn't actually think I'd kill her off permanently, did you? 

Thanks for all the support and I'm glad most of you have came with me over to this one. It's great! and your all big big gems.

I have one question...would you prefer Cole to go all evil and _possibly _be vanquished or would you want him to settle down with little miss Phoebe? It probably won't happen in this fic but I'm thinking ahead and at the moment I have two plots running around in my otherwise empty head.

So...door 1 Evil ...or... door 2 settle.

Other than that, thanks for all the lovely reviews and hope you all keep reading.

HAPPY EASTER...and to all a good night, lol.


	3. Awkward Explanations

A/N: I'm updating for all those lovely reviewers out there. Your all big diamonds!

Here you go...

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3. Awkward Explanations. 

The Elder stood before the group, feeling uncomfortable by the stares his entrance had caused. It didn't help he was now dressed in his traditional Elder robes, making him feel like an outcast.

"Krolan, hi." Prue greeted, noticing how awkward he looked, something she hadn't seen before. Also his change in clothing seemed odd, after having got used to him being in his casual wear lately, which she had to admit suited him better.

At the thought she guiltily glanced away, aware that Andy would have heard that. She had never wanted someone getting inside her head, more so at this particular moment.

"Hi." Krolan replied, somewhat hesitantly, as the looks from the Lighter told him, friendship was not what he wanted.

Andy kept his eyes on the Elder, half out of jealousy and another part was suspicion. Also with Prue's thoughts cascading with his own, it only increased his need for wanting the guy to disappear.

"So are you the one behind Prue's living dead routine?" Phoebe grinned at Krolan, unaware of the tension between the Elder and Andy. The deceased cop had only just got her back and wasn't planning on losing her to another guy.

"Before he begins, we might as well get comfortable." Grams stated, walking towards the living room.

"She has got a point." Paige commented, grabbing Glen's hand and pulling him in the direction her grandmother had left in.

Patty smiled warmly towards the Elder, before heading for the room with Victor trailing behind.

Phoebe alsoquickly grabbed Cole's hand. "Come on or we'll have no seats." she laughed, although being serious.

Krolan briefly caught Prue's eye, before he glanced away and began to follow the rest of the family. He wished he had thought this through more, feeling foolish for being there.

At his look, Prue couldn't help but feel guilty.

Piper and Leo were next to leave, too preoccupied to notice anything. The whitelighter, leaned in close to his wife. "We need to talk later." he whispered, taking her hand in his. She was puzzled by his actions but nodded in agreement.

All who remained was Prue, Andy and Darryl.

The latter turned to Prue, still trying to comprehend the appearance of the dead guy that stood before him. "Could you give me the non-magical version later?" he smiled.

The witch grinned at the request, knowing it would be virtually impossible to explain on his terms. "I'll see what I can come up with." Prue joked, feeling Andy take her hand. "You sure you don't want to stay?"

"Positive." he replied quickly, getting a laugh from his former partner. "Do I even want to ask about you?"

"I couldn't stay away too long, Morris." Andy replied.

"Yeah I wonder why?" Darryl smiled, giving a side glance to Prue. "You two better be safe with all thishocus pocus." he gave Andya hug, while patting his back. "It's good to have you back, man."

"It's great to be back."

"You be good to Prue. She's like my little sister now." he warned.

Andy laughed at the tone, "And here I thought you two would never get along."

"I guess you were wrong." Prue mocked from his side.

"Stick around Trudeau, I ain't yelled at you yet for leaving me with all your paper work." Darryl laughed.

"I've got nowhere else better to be." Andy replied, wrapping his arms tightly round Prue's waist.

"You two be safe." the Inspector stated while heading for the exit.

"Bye Darryl, say hi to Shelia for me." Prue responded, following him to the door.

Darryl nodded, "Will do. Bye."

Prue closed the front door and turned to face Andy, incapable of removing the smile from her face.

"You know Shelia and he knows your witches. You must be close." he smiled, remembering the arguments he had with Darryl about Prue.

"What can I say?…" she replied, placing her arms round his neck. "…he's a better Inspector."

"That actually hurts." but instead of dwelling on the joke, Andy leaned forward finally happy to have a moment between them.

----------

"It's about time." Paige whined, as Prue and Andy walked into the crowded room.

She was sat on the couch, with Phoebenext to her in Cole's arms. Glen was sat on the arm of the chair, with his arm draped over Paige's shoulder. Piper was sat comfortably with Leo in the over sized chair, while Patty and Penny made used of thetwo smaller chairs. Victor lingered in the background, not one for magic but he wanted to hear the explanation.

Krolan was stood in front of the group and had not managed to become any more comfortable since his return. Henoticedhad more confidence when he was confronting the other Elders.

"Darryl wanted to go. Too much magic for him in one day." Prue clarified, deciding to leave out the momentshe and Andyhad shared. They both took a seat on the floor because, as Phoebe had predicted, there was now no seats left.

"Uh huh." Phoebe teased, eyeing the couple mischievously.

Prue shot her a look, telling her to be quiet. "Yes, I assume seeing Andy alive and then me rising from dead would throw him off track a bit, don't you?"

Phoebe only shrugged, still having a smile covering her face.

"About you rising from the dead…" Paige jumped in, then looked to Krolan and smiled pleasantly. "..can you explain?"

The Elder began to fiddle with his fingers and cleared his dry throat, which did little to help.

"Well…um, Prue was never meant to die. If she had remained so, the repercussions could have been great. Without the four of you, the Charmed Ones do not exist." Krolan started, not liking the attention.

"So…" he continued, his mouth growing even more dry. "..I…and some others.." the Elder added quickly. "..brought her back."

Prue watched him closely, there was something in his story that she didn't believe. She was grateful for his act and couldn't begin to repay him but something just felt odd.

"And they went for it?" Phoebe asked incredulously, "..'cause they were never our biggest fans." she continued, snuggling into Cole, without realising the example she showed of the types of things the Elders detested.

"Yeah.." Krolan half lied, he didn't want them all to know he was solely responsible. "They understand the lose would have been great."

"Not all of them wanted to though, did they?" Piper read, knowing what the Elder's are capable of.

Krolan smiled somewhat bitterly, "No, some did not…but the decision had been made.." he answered, replaying his meeting with the other Elder's from earlier. "..and Prue is living proof of the outcome."

Prue smiled at him, but sensed Andy tensing next to her. As if to calm him, she placed her hand on his knee, to which he grabbedit gently.

"What about the scar?…most wounds heal completely." Patty asked worriedly.

Prue instinctively looked down at the small mark that now held a permanent place on her body. _It's not too bad, _she thought. It wasn't disfiguring, it was just a reminder of something that has happened that she would rather forget.

"It will remain, I'm afraid." Krolan's voice floated into her mind, bringing her out of her thoughts. "It's due to the connection you had with the Source but I'm certain you have nothing to worry about."

"What was that anyway?" Cole questioned. In all his years as a demon, he had never witnessed a connection of that type to occur.

Krolan glanced from the demon to Prue. "Well, the connection was to exchange half of your powers with the Source."

"What?" Piper screeched, having seen the act up close. Most of it had blurred now but it was still etched into he memory.

Everyone in the room was glancing between Prue and the Elder, waiting for him to continue. The eldest Charmed One did not move her eyes from Krolan, stunned at the revelation.

"_Power a like, power shared._" Paige finally caught. "..Isn't that what was engraved on the weapon?"

"Yeah," Prue answered, before turning back to the Elder. "Why didn't you tell me? I think I should know when someone is taking half my power."

"I honestly didn't know, I found out once the connection had happened." Krolan replied apologetically. The last thing he wanted was for Prue to think he had purposely kept something from her.

"So Prue now has some of the Source's power?" Piper questioned.

Krolan dragged his eyes from Prue's, "No, it could not be completed. With Prue's death the transaction could not continue. You see the two weapons were components in a circuit, producing the same energy…but when you died, the connection died with you." he answered.

"Neither have each other's power then?" Cole enquired.

"No." Krolan replied, his eyes then fixing on the floor.

The room filled with silence, nobody quite sure how to continue. However, Penny cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention, then directed her eyes towards Leo, who was looking up at the ceiling.

"I believe that's our call, right? Leo." she announced.

The whitelighter smiled apologetically, while nodding very slightly.

"Do you have too?" Phoebe whined, pulling out of Cole's arms.

"Afraid so, sweetie." Patty sighed not really wanting to leave. She stood up and gave each daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek, while Grams went and did the same.

After a while, Patty and Penny stood, readying themselves for their return to the afterlife. Patty smiled broadly at her four daughters. "I love you all and I'm so proud." she praised, slowly fading.

"Blessed be darlings." Grams stated, also fading along with her daughter.

"Blessed be." they chimed as the deceased witches vanished.

Victor watched from the other side of the room, noticing the sadness in each of their faces as his ex-wife and her mother disappeared. He was still trying to digest what had happened today and still couldn't begin to understand.

The mortalcouldn't help but wonder if his daughters would ever be upset if he departed. He found his eldest child refused to make eye contact, where as Piper would make very little and his baby, the youngest, only glanced at him whenshe assumed he wasn't paying attention. _When did it get this bad? _he thought.

"I…um, better return also…unless you have anything else….." Krolan trailed off, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"Krolan, could I speak to you, please?" Prue asked, standing up from her space on the floor. She squeezed Andy's shoulder before making her way into another room.

The Lighter watched on as the other man followed Prue. It wasn't that he disliked Krolan, he barely knew him but apart of him was weary…and jealous. Andy realised, he was worried. Worried, Prue wouldn't want him back.

----------

"Prue, you have to understand I didn't know about the weapon. I would have told you." Krolan began as they both walked into the kitchen.

"How much trouble are you in?" Prue asked in return.

"What…I…" he stuttered, showing hewas confused.

She smiled at the puzzlement on his face. "For bringing me back, Krolan. How much trouble are you in?"

"I'm not. I told you, they agreed." the Elder lied.

"No they didn't, so tell me." Prue pressed, having seen the guilt washover his face. "I know you had no-one else's help, which means you shouldn't have done it." she waited rather patiently for his answer.

"I couldn't let you die, Prue." Krolan replied eventually, concentrating on his hands.

The eldest Halliwell placed her hand over his, causing him to look up. "Thank you.." she smiled, "..but if your in trouble for it, I want to know."

"I'll be okay, promise." he replied.

"Krolan." Prue reprimanded while only using one word.

"Prue, I made the decision, I will deal with the outcome." for the first time since arriving back at the manor, Krolan spoke confidently andtrying to leaveno room for her to argue.

"I don't want you to deal though." sheattempted.

"I'll be fine. Trust me." he grinned, followed by silence as Prue knew she would get no further. She'd have to get Leo to spy on the Elders and keep her up to date.

Finally she glanced up at his eyes, while removing her hand from his. "How'd you do it anyway? I thought I was gone."

"Do you remember the bright light?" Krolan asked, to which she nodded. "A little after that."

"Why don't I remember?" Prue questioned.

Krolan grinned teasingly. "It's magic."

"That's not fair." she sulked, while trying not to smile.

"Prue." Phoebe called from the other room, causing her to spin round to the sound.

"I ought to go." Krolan announced, causing them both to remember the last time they stood in the kitchen together.

Prue, however, pushed the thought away andmove closer,giving the Elder a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you…for everything." she smiled, a mixture of sadness and gratefulness, as well as genuine happiness and excitement.

"Be safe, Prue…Maybe I'll see you at Disneyland." he replied.

"Yeah, maybe." she whispered as Krolandisappeared from view.

----------

"Where's Krolan?" Paige asked, as Prue walked back into the room.

"He had to go." the oldest replied, noticing Piper and Victor weren't in the room. "Where's Pipe?"

"Escorting Dad to the door, I think." Phoebe answered with a hint of bitterness.

Prue nodded then took a seat by Andy, lacing her fingers with his.

"So we're…"

"…starting over." Prue finished for him. "Yeah." she beamed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Andy kissed her forehead. "I lo…."

Prue placed a finger over his lips quciklyto stop him from continuing, finally sitting up to face him. "Maybe we shouldn't say that for a while. We have a tendency to die once we do." she told him, with a small smile.

"Fine, but only for a little while." he replied after she removed her finger, which allowed him to lean in and kiss her gently.

"Ewww." came the joint response from Phoebe and Paige, followed by giggling.

* * *

A/N: So, according to your reviews, most of you want Cole to remain good. He might have his moment, haven't decided yet thou.

Also kinda glad you guys seem to like Krolan. I have set up a forum, if you wanted to tell me what you think of him...and the whole Andy thing too.

Jessebella87; You re-read FtGF (sorry I'm too tired to type the full title) wow! Aaw, your not dumb, I didn't bringit up again cosit's not entirelyfull filled yet...but your on the right track. ;o) Thanks for the review and no prob with bringing Prue back. I couldn't keep her dead for long. : )

jdjams; thanks for the review and glad you liked it.

kfordy; hey, thanks for the review and for the Cole bit. Krolan and Andy; who knows? Glad you liked anyway.

shanfan; I think he'll probably stay with Phoebe, sorry. Although there are quite a few fics I like with Prue and Cole...but this won't be one. really sorry.

Siamese; Thanks, glad you liked FtGF and this one.Also thanks for answering the Cole question.He might be tested..but not sure yet.

Thanks to all reviewers and also to anyone that has me down on there fav author list. It's reeeeeeeeally sweet of you all and hope you all like.

bye.


	4. Truth Will Out

A/N: Okay, I know I'm updating a lot lately but basically I have time of work so I'm using it productively. So yay me!

I have noticed a lot of Krolan/Andy in your reviews...and I'm so glad you guys have taken to my little Elder. :o)

Anyway next chap below, hope you like.

* * *

4. Truth Will Out. 

"How come their dad left so quickly?" Glen asked Paige when they were alone in the kitchen.

"I think when they didn't acknowledge him, he got the idea." Paige answered happily, still having not forgiving her sisters father for his treatment of Prue. She grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge , handing one to Glen.

"Yeah but you should have seen him, Paige. He came flying in the house, screaming for Prue. I thought he might at least try to talk to her, after he went to the effort to pin me to the wall." he replied, too preoccupied with opening the bottle he was offered to see Paige's reaction.

"He what?" she exclaimed.

Glen looked up startled by the outburst. "It was nothing. Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't." he argued firmly, hoping Paige wouldn't go into stubborn mode too quickly before he could stop her. Apparently it worked as she focused on the wrapper on the bottle, picking at it slightly.

"I think it does." she mumbled more to herself,althoughknowing Glen would hear.

In response he moved towards Paige and wrapped one arm around her, pulling her closer. "It's fine.." he stated, "..but I would have thought he'd try, considering what we all saw."

Paige grew quiet and began to pick at the bottle wrapper more, feeling as though today had been too close to the nightmare she dreaded.

"I'm sorry, Paige. I didn't mean to upset you." Glen apologised, pulling her even closer.

"You didn't…it's just a bit scary is all, how close we came to…you know." she trailed off, not really wanting to finish her sentence.

"At least she's back." Glen responded, kicking himself for bringing it up in the first place.

"Yeah.." Paige smiled. "Thanks to Krolan, I never did get to say thank you."

"Maybe someday you can." he smiled, then grew serious, "Will Victor come back?" he asked, making a mental note to be convenientlyout that day.

"Probably….When though? Your guess is as good as mine." Paige half smiled.

----------

"…and to think Prue almost had more power." Phoebe pondered to Cole, who was sat comfortably in the living room. The younger Halliwell was sat next to him on the sofa, but faced him with her legs crossed in front of herself.

"Your not jealous are you?" he grinned, waiting for her quick response.

"No." she replied indignantly.

"It's not like you'd want to have some of the Source's power, is it?" Cole continued to tease.

Phoebe caught on to his actions and smiled pleasantly. "No, I wouldn't.." she moved closer to the demon, "..I have a hard enough time resisting evil as it is."

"Really?" he played along.

"Yeah.." she grinned, leaning in and giving him a small kiss. Pulling away, Phoebe looked at him with a questioning expression. "Would you want them?"

"Of course…" Cole grinned. "..but that's just the demon in me talking."

"Well maybe you can tell him to shut up, as we're kinda busy." the witch beamed, while Cole kissed her again.

Cole now looked serious and he stared at Phoebe. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you going to give me an answer?" he asked.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "I just did."

"No, to my other question."

"What question?" she still had the same puzzled expression on her face.

"Phoebe, I asked you to marry me." Cole replied, somewhat restlessly from the run around.

The Charmed One grew quiet, which was noticed by the demon instantly. "Oh.." she replied eventually. "..Iwould love to." Phoebe smiled, but underneath she knew it was forced.

"Are you sure?" he asked, noticing her reluctance.

"Of course I am…you just caught me off guard." she half lied.

"I had already asked, Phoebe." Cole added.

"Yeah, on a battle field." she replied with a small roll of her eyes, briefly thinking of something. "At least it wasn't the toilet." Phoebe commented, remembering the endless complaints from Piper about Leo's choice in location.

At Cole's curious and perplexed look, she waved her hand dismissively. "You'd have to ask Piper."

----------

"Be honest, can you hear what I'm thinking?" Prue asked, sitting on the couch in the attic with the Book of Shadowsin front of her.

Andy was sat across from her and had an expression of concentration on his face. "Right now, no…when I concentrate, yes." he stated, giving her a smile.

"That will have to do." she sighed. After a couple of hours, she had finally got Andy out of her head. Prue closed the large book and placed it on the ground.

"Can I ask you something?" Andy questioned gently, while moving up on the old couch. Whenshe nodded he continued. "What's the deal with that Krolan guy?"

Prue grew thoughtful at the question, somehow knowing Andy would have brought him up eventually. She ran a hand through her hair briefly, trying to find the words. "Krolan is an Elder….."

"…who can bring you back from the dead and wants to be with you." Andy interrupted when Prue trailed off, still unable to find the words.

"It's not as simply as that." she sighed, trying to hide her annoyance at the interruption.

"..because you want to be with him." the Lighter assumed, his insecurities pounding away inside of him.

"No, I'm here with you, aren't I?" Prue shot back. "Okay, Krolan _is _someone important to me, I can't deny that. He has helped me a lot and yes, there was something between us but that ended even before you were back."

"It doesn't seem as though he knows that." Andy muttered to him.

"He does. We care about each other but there's nothing more to it." she replied and when he was silent, she continued. "Is this really about my relationship with Krolan or is this about you?"

Andy looked up at her question. "So you have a relationship with him?"

"Andy!" Prue warned, growing more and more agitated.

"I just don't know where I stand anymore." he replied honestly.

Prue stood up and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the door. "Fine, you need reassurance." she muttered, pulling the Lighter to her room.

Andy stood silently in her bedroom, while Prue raided her wardrobe for something. She turned round and threw something on the floor at Andy's feet. A pair of old sneakers, he instantly recognised.

"I kept them, okay, even though I wanted to throw them out into the trash, where I personally think they belong. I kept them, Andy, because they meant something to you." she told him, then began to move forward.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" he sighed, looking down at his lucky shoes. However, Prue cut him off and wrapped her arms round his neck.

"Where you stand is here, with me…where you have always been."

----------

"You wanted to talk." Piper stated to Leo, as she walked back into their room from the bathroom. She found her husband sat on their bed, deep in thought.

Leo looked up at the sound of her voice, stillkeeping his pensive expression. "Yeah."

"Okay, what's it about?" Piper asked, running as hairbrush through her hair.

"The battle and how you healed yourself." Leo answered, watching as Piper turned to face him and stopped with her routine.

"Well I was unconscious, Leo." she replied. _It's going to come out sooner or later,_another part of herself was saying,alsothinking about the little life that grew inside of her.

"It's not just that, Piper, when you were arguing with Prue, you touched your stomach….like a mother-to-be does."

Piper grew quiet, not knowing how to respond. _That was not sooner! _she yelled at whatever controlled 'fate', having at least thought she would have some time to think.

"Piper are you pregnant?"

And there was the question she dreaded. She couldn't lie to him but knew the consequences of her secret would catch up with her.

Slowly Piper took a seat on the bed next to Leo, and began to fiddle with one of the pillows. She swallowed deep, trying to find the right way to say what she needed to.

"Yes." she replied quietly, waiting for more questions to come.

"How long have you known?" Leo asked, unable to hide the shock in his voice.

"Almost two months."

"What?…Piper you should have told me." Leo vented.

"I know…" she replied looking up at his face. "…I should have done but I didn't. I needed to be there today."

"You risked our baby, Piper. How could you?"

"Leo, I had lots that I was risking. You. My family. I needed to be there….and don't talk to me like I drunk a bottle of vodka, rather than tried to help." Piper responded, hurt by the way he questioned and insinuated.

"Piper, you still risked your life and the baby's." Leo argued. "How far along are you?" he asked, knowing yelling won't get them anywhere.

"Almost four months." Piper replied quietly.

Leo grew silent, then looked up at his wife, who he could tell was feeling guilty. "Does anyone else know?"

Piper had a war going on inside her mind. Does she lie and protect her sister or tell the truth and incriminate Prue.

"No, I kept it to myself." she answered.

Leo went quiet again but slowly Piper watched as a smile began to appear on his face.

"I can't say I'm happy you told nobody Piper and you've gone through your own. I should have known." he told her,finally takingher hands.

"I'm going to be a dad." the whitelighter said in awe, while grinning.

Piper smiled back, "Yeah, you are."

* * *

A/N: Kinda filled with fluff I believe. 

Thanks for all the reviews, much appreciated. :o) (that's me grinning)

Jessabella87; Yeah most wantCole good. I'll find a spin to it anyway. Also post something, you really should...even if it's short or just a one shot. I'll read it for you:o) (me grinning again) And I can't help but feel self conscious when I write...just one of those things. Anyway thanks for the review and hoped you liked this chap.

Everyone else I'll review with the little review button again. I wouldreply here but I might have too much to say.

Thanks again, love you guys loads for it!


	5. Duty and Honesty

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys but the next parts finally here.

Also sorry for the crap ending of the last chap, I rushed it.

* * *

5. Duty and Honesty. 

Prue woke slowly wrapped in someone's arms. Although an odd situation of late, she felt nothing but comfortable and content. She sat up, careful not to wake Andy, who laid beside her.

Once again they had fallen into the same routine, which meant that once again they fell into bed. However, this time Prue had no worries about the act. After losing him once, she wasn't about to fret about the simplicities of wanting to be with him.

Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at his appearance. Then, the eldest Halliwell pulled the bed sheets over herself and prepared to get out of the bed.

"Your not skipping out on me again, are you?" came a groggy voice from behind her.

Smiling, Prue put her plan on hold and turned to face Andy. "What are you getting at, mister?"

"Well.." he began, opening his eyes and making himself more comfortable. "..the previous 'morning after the night before' we had, I vividly remember waking up and finding you gone and my alarm clock conveniently missing."

"Who said I was leaving?" she grinned, as he pulled her back down. "Plus, I couldn't even if I wanted to. Your at my house."

Andy looked down at her with an amused smile, lying on his stomach and using his elbows to prop himself up. "When I was last around, you would have ran to your office."

"Which I don't have anymore." Prue replied, having told Andy some of the changes last night. "I have a dark room in the basement, which is also at my house. See so I can't win."

"I'm proud of you, becoming a photographer." Andy praised, while changing the subject.

"Why thank you." she smiled, mocking his compliment slightly.

"I still think you should have done it years ago." he responded, having watched Prue struggle with her grandmother about pursuing her dream.

Prue sighed, having heard the argument when she was in high school. "I had other things to think about back then. Responsibilities that needed money, I had to be practical." she reasoned.

Andy kissed her forehead. "You never have changed, have you?" he smirked.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is that meant as a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Mostly good." Andy grinned, receiving a hit on the arm for his comment.

"I could say the same for you." Prue replied, poking his chest with her index finger.

"But my changes are all good." he continued to tease.

She playfully glared at him. "Really?"

However any response was cut off as Andy glanced up at the ceiling.

"I know that look…Leo has that look." Prue responded to his actions. "..There calling you already." she whined, feeling her heart sink at his apologetic expression.

"Sorry." he sighed, not wanting to leave, himself.

Prue sighed heavily, "You might want to change." she smiled somewhat bitterly, knowing the Elders wouldn't appreciate a naked Andy.

"I'll be back, promise." he smiled, kissing her before grabbing his clothes.

_This sucks! _she thought, while wrapping the bed sheet tightly around herself again.

"Maybe I should just stay here then." Prue smiled.

"That would drive you insane and you know it." he laughed in response, watching as Prue went to argue but then stopped, unable to find a valid reply.

Once dressed, Andy leaned over the bed and left a lingering kiss on her lips, startling her as she had momentarily zoned out. "Save me some breakfast……but only if it's Piper's cooking." he grinned, disappearing in a cloud of purple and blue orbs.

"For that, I won't!" Prue called to the ceiling, knowing it was a dig at her own culinary skills.

-----------

Piper stood in the kitchen, behind the stove, where she would be found most mornings. Only today, she didn't feel the calm and peacefulness of what cooking usually brought her. Instead, the pregnant Halliwell, was unable to shake the feeling, things were far from settled in the manor.

The tension in the air had never left, even though most of the people in the house felt very content and happy at the present time. There was just something that lurked underneath, waiting to blow up in their faces. One aspect would be the impending baby.

She knew they would not be impressed with her decision and less with Prue, as she had kept it quiet. So, Piper planned to keep her sister out of her explanation, like she had done the previous night with Leo.

"How are my two favourite people this morning?" her husband appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around the slight bump of Piper's stomach.

Surprised by the sudden arrival, the second eldestHalliwellhad to take a moment to compose herself. "We're both fine.." she smiled, masking the worry that was building inside of her. "..better now you're here."

"Good, wouldn't have it any other way." he smiled lovingly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

For a short time, a comfortable silence invaded their space, until Leo spoke again. "You should tell your sisters, they'll be so happy."

"That's the plan." Piper replied quietly.

----------

Paige rolled over in bed, finally catching the faint wisps of breakfast cooking. It pulled her out of the dreamland where she felt peaceful and lethargic. The youngest breathed in deeply savouring the smell.

It was the simplest of momentslike this that made her appreciate finding her sisters more. She may have lostsomeof her independence but she gained something greater. Had she not found them, she would probably be waking in an apartment, where the only smell to greet her would be mould and must. Also, her only visitors would be coch-roaches, who never actually left.

Sometimes she worried about the independence she lost and at times still craved. However the feeling is soon pushed away when she was with them and all their quirks. Life on her own only looked bleak.

Paige smiled to herself as she moved to the guy she thought the world of. As unreliable as he could sometimes be, she couldn't help but ignore all his flaws and just love him for who he was.

The smile soon turned into a grin, as she began to prod his nose, resulting in him swiping her hand away.

"Stop it…" he mumbled inaudibly. "…sleeping here."

"Glen, I think you might want to get up." she whispered happily.

One eye opened, as he looked at her. "Why?" he mumbled again into the pillow.

"Piper's cooking breakfast." Paige explained.

"How'd you know it's Piper?" Glen questioned, rolling over slightly to get a better view of her.

"Well Phoebe doesn't cook, it's…not one of her talentsandcan be life treating.." she replied, trying to find the right words. "..and Prue serves cereal, over cooked porridge or toast, extra crispy and makes coffee you can run your car on."

The mortal laughed, thankful for at least one chef in the family. "What do you add?"

"Me? I can do cereal and toast…but I'm there to tell Piper how good hers is."

Glen laughed again. He often worried Paige would feel left out but he soon realised she had her own place within the family. She fitted in, even in all it's abnormality.

"I'm hitting the shower before all the hot water goes." Paige told him leaving the room.

----------

Phoebe had been awake a while, she just hadn't got round to climbing out her bed yet. After the events of yesterday, all she wanted was to hide away from the world.

In a few short months, her life had drastically changed; Prue had died and was brought back, Andy was back also, Paige and Glen were together again, she wasn't speaking to her father, she had once again had a brief moment with her mother and she was now engaged.

That was without the fact they had faced the Source and his army.

_The only person I think is somewhat the same, is Piper, _she thought to herself. Everybody else had had a life altering moment in the short time.

All Phoebe wanted was to find her footing before she was swept away into uncertainty. Too much change made her nervous, although she would refuse to show it.

To everyone around her, she was carefree and optimistic, which to a certain degree, she was. However there was also part of her that wasscared she would never amount to anything and be a disappointment.

Also with the way her life shifts quickly, she was scared they would all find her out to be a failure.

"Morning." Cole whispered in her ear, breaking her current train of thought.

Placing a smile on her face, she pecked his lips. "Morning." she replied, pushing her congesting thoughts away. "Want to go find the rest, I believe Piper's cooking."

----------

After a while, and some arguing over who used the last of the hot water, everyone had congregated in the dinning room, all bar Prue, who walked in last.

"Morning." she greeted the room.

"Morning." was the reply, as they watched the eldest Halliwell grab some coffee.

"Where's Andy?" Paige asked, looking at where her sister had just entered.

Prue rolled her eyes, taking her seat. "They called him away earlier." she answered, not hiding the small amount of bitterness.

"Wow, They didn't wait around, did they?" Phoebe replied, also finding it harsh on the Elders part.

"Do you know why?" Piper asked Leo.

"No, sorry." he smiled apologetically. "I could go check for you."

"No Leo. He said he'll be back as soon as possible." Prue told them all.

"Did you want us to wait?" Piper asked, feeling as though they should, especially as Andy had only just returned.

Prue, however, shook her head. "Nope, let's eat." she smiled.

A few minutes later, Leo cleared his throat and took Piper's hand. The second eldest knew what was coming and her heart rose into her mouth, as it became dry.

"We have something to tell you all." the whitelighter began.

Phoebe glanced between her sister and her brother-in-law, trying to ignore Cole grabbing her hand, making her well aware of his plan too.

Prue sat at the end of the table knowing what Leo was sbout to say, although she couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't angry at her for not telling him. She looked to Piper, who seemed preoccupied.

"What is it? Is it bad news?" Paige questioned, noticing the slight change in the air.

"No, Paige, it's good news." Leo smiled. "Piper is pregnant. We're having a baby."

The room froze momentarily, then all of a sudden a squeel came from Phoebe.

"This is great!" she jumped up running over and hugging her sister. Then Paige joined in, being pulled by her youngest older sister.

Prue smiled fondly, before being pulled into the group.

Glen and Cole offered their congratulations to Leo, not having a chance to get to Piper, as she was buried under a mound of sisters.

However, as Phoebe felt the unsettling feeling of another huge change, realisation hit her and she pulled away and gazed at Piper. "How long have you known?"

Her sister swallowed hard, "Almost two months."

"You knew before we left yesterday?" Phoebe replied in shock.

"Yes." Piper answered, finding herself growing agitated with her younger sister's accusing tone.

"Piper, we should have know." Paige added, "..if something was to happen…"

"Nothing happened, we are both fine and healthy." she smiled, trying to release the growing tension.

"Someone should have known, Piper." Phoebe lectured, folding her arms in front of herself and eyeing her sister disapprovingly.

"Someone did." Prue spoke up, unaware of the impact her confession would have.

All eyes turned to the eldest Halliwell, who was more concerned with everyone ganging up on Piper, when she was at fault too.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and glad you all seem to like it so far.

If you guys ever want to chat, the forum thing is all yours. Also if someone wants a topic added, let me know and I can do that for you.

Can you sense the where the next chap will go, lol.

Again thanks forthe reviews.


	6. Confession Backlash

A/N: Firstly I have a HUGE apology to all who have been waiting for this update. I've been in kinda a funk with this fic for a little (as you may have gathered) but I think I'm over it know.

Secondly I don't like the chap but it's kinda essential...so I'm completely open and ready to being slated for it.

Also I would like to thank all who reviewed and hope your all not too mad at the amount of time it's taken for this...

* * *

6. Confession Backlash 

Silence filled the room as all eyes fell to the eldest Halliwell. Shock covered their faces as they comprehended her few words.

Leo glanced between the two older sisters, watching as Piper closed her eyes tightly. He knew she was wishing for the world to swallow her up and a small part of him wanted to help her, however a bigger part wanted answers.

"You knew?" Phoebe spoke up, unable to hide the anger in her voice.

Prue gazed defiantly at her younger sister, standing up for her decision. "Yes."

"And you didn't tell us?" Phoebe yelled in response.

"I told her not to." Piper defended her older sister.

The second youngest spun on her pregnant sister. "Don't, Piper! That does not make it right!"

"No it doesn't…" Prue jumped in.

"Then why do it?" Phoebe replied heatedly. "Piper is pregnant and you let her go!"

"Phoebe." Paige sighed, not wanting an argument.

"Don't you think I know that?" the eldest shot back.

"Apparently not! Although it wouldn't be the first time you kept something from us." Phoebe glared at her sister.

"What are you getting at Phoebe?" Prue asked, folding her arms in front of herself, attempting to deflect the glare she was at the receiving end of.

Phoebe rolled her eyes in frustration. "Wow, you have a short memory…"

"Come on, Pheebs, leave it…at least cool down a bit." Paige tried knowing where this was heading.

"No! She kept Piper's pregnancy a secret. Why not, say, a sister? I mean you kept Paige rather quiet for a while. It seems to be an epidemic with you, Prue."

"Phoebe." the youngest responded with a sigh, having thought they had all got passed that detail in her appearance in their lives.

"You know why I did that." Prue replied to the insinuation.

"Yeah…" Phoebe drew out the word in a sarcastic manner. "..you did it for her. Not wanting to throw her in the deep end…"

"Can you stop talking as if I'm not here?" Paige added, getting pissed off herself.

"…not the fact you're a frecking control freak!" the second youngest finished, ignoring Paige's pleas for peace.

"Phoebe, that's enough!" Piper yelled, standing from her chair.

Phoebe didn't look at Piper, instead continued to focus on Prue, not relaxing the glare she sent. "Once again, Prue; one - Phoebe; Nil." her voice was icy and spiteful. She turned from everyone in the room and left.

Cole cleared his throat carefully. "I'll…um…go see if I can calm her down." he announced, before following after her.

"You know what guys, I need to get out of here for a little while." Paige sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Congratulations, Pipe." she smiled and gave her sister's stomach a pat, before heading for the door.

"Paige, wait up." Glen called, not wanting to be left in the war zone. "Congrates." he smiled to Piper, like Paige had done moments ago. With that they both left.

Prue glanced at Piper, while pushing her hair of her face.

Piper's eyes slide from her sister's to her husband's. He was glancing between the pair, then suddenly he turned and left for the kitchen.

"Leo." Piper called, quickly following after him.

Prue gazed around the now empty room and breathed out heavily. "Great job, Prue." she sighed.

She sat back on her chair and rested her head on her arms. "I have a big mouth." she mumbled to herself.

-----------

"Leo, please." Piper sighed following him into the kitchen.

The whitelighter stopped but did not turn to face her straight away. Instead tried to find a little calm he wanted so desperately to be there. Eventually he turned to his wife, eyeing her in disbelieve.

"You lied to me. Not only about the pregnancy but you told me no one else knew!" Leo vented, trying hard not to scream and yell, although his voice rose throughout.

"I know and I'm sorry." Piper replied.

"Sorry you lied or just sorry you got caught…" he shot back.

"Leo!"

"What? Piper. What do you expect me to say? Thank you for keeping _me_,the father, in the dark and for telling your sister before me."

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the unpleasant pounding of an oncoming headache. "I didn't tell Prue, she found out."

"Oh, well, that settles it then, doesn't it?" Leo spat sarcastically.

"Look Leo, I am sorry whether you believe me or not. I wanted to tell you first. Your right, you should have been told first…Okay, I made a mistake, but I standby that mistake." Piper replied. She did believe her decision at the time was right, only trying to explain that to them now was the problem.

Her husband was silent for a while, a mixture of emotions racing round him. "I can't believe Prue let you go." he muttered eventually, distaste obvious in his voice.

"She didn't _let _me Leo. I chose to go….so don't go thinking this is all Prue, because it's not." she responded to his insinuation that Prue didn't care.

"Well can you blame me. I mean…my God, Piper….."

"Do you realise I begged her not to tell anyone else, no matter how much she wanted to?... She did triple the worrying, quadruple the nagging as well as mothering….on top of the battle plans, endless prophecies, that Krolan mess and the meltdown with Mum. I put so much extra baggage on to her and she could have easily told you or anyone else….but she, didn't for me."

Leo looked at Piper, his iciness melting a little.

"…she did it because I asked, Leo. No other reason." Piper finished.

Leo was silent again, as he contemplated his wife's words.

"I need to think." he finally said and before Piper could protest, Leo disappeared in a mass of orbs.

"Leo…" she called after the fading light.

"Great," she muttered, "…just, great."

-----------

"Phoebe, don't you think your over reacting just a little?" Cole asked, as he followed her along the pavement. He had no clue as to where she was going but just followed her, hoping she would eventually give up and stop.

Phoebe spun on him, causing her to stop walking, like he had wanted. "Prue _let _Piper go to that battle knowing Piper was pregnant." she spat.

"I know, but are you telling me, _you _would have listened to Prue in Piper's position?" Cole replied softly.

"We are not talking about me, we are talking about Prue being a control freak." Phoebe shot back, before turning round and continuing down the street.

"Phoebe, this isn't us talking at all. This is you blaming your sister and me following…and it's getting you no where." he answered carefully.

"Actually Cole, it's got me halfway down the street, so it's having the desired effect." she retaliated.

"You need to talk to them, Phoebe, actually talk. You should be back there." the half demon tried.

She turned to face him. "You know what, I never asked you to come. So if your going to whine the entire time, I'd rather you leave."

"Fine!" he yelled suddenly, frustrated at her attitude towards him.

"Fine!" she shouted back, while moving on again.

Phoebe sighed and turned back round. "Cole." she called but he had already gone.

----------

"What are you thinking?" Glen asked softly, as he and Paige sat under a tree in the local park.

Both had barely spoken since they arrived, which Glen didn't mind, he was just concerned.

Paige looked up at him then turned forward again, with her legs stretched out in front of her.

"I'm thinking…." she began quietly, "…that my toe nails need an extra coat of vanish."

"Paige." Glen sighed with a smile.

"What? It's true, look that ones chipped." the half whitelighter contended, indicating the problematic toe.

"You know what I was talking about."

"Yes I do, but you asked what I was thinking." she smiled at him. "…and that is what I was thinking."

"Okay, smart ass.." he laughed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. "What are you thinking about what happened back at the manor?"

Paige was again silent, as she leant against him. "I'm thinking my family have far too many secrets…although most are kept with good intentions."

"So…your not mad at them?" Glen pressed on gentle.

"I wasn't mad, as such,I'm not happy either….but when Phoebe was yelling at Prue for keeping me quiet for a while, I kinda felt as though it would be hypocritical for me to have my say. I mean again, Prue did what she was asked…would it be right for her to break Piper's trust?" Paige replied, letting out a long breath of air.

"..but was it right for Prue to not protect Piper and the baby, just so Piper didn't get mad at her?" he countered softly.

"That's the thing, Prue did protect Piper. The reason she died was to get Piper away from the Source…but they all seemed to have slipped that little detail and started yelling."

"Sounds to me, your not mad at Prue….maybe someone else." Glen added.

Paige again sighed. "I'm not mad, but it is Piper's place to tell us…like it was kinda my place to tell Phoebe and Piper. Prue was just doing her sister thing…but I'm not saying it was right, just….." she trailed off.

"I know what you mean." he supplied when she couldn't find the right words.

"She had good intentions." Paige responded.

Glen laughed a little. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"Don't we know it." she commented, with the slightest of humour in her voice.

* * *

A/N: There you go. It's taken a while but it is up. 

I wanted to let you guys know, I didn't give up on writing altogether...I used my time productively (lol) and started a new one called The Return. I'm kinda having fun with that at the moment and working on the next chapter.

Anyway thanks for all the reviews on the last chap, much appreciated.

I'll let you guys go now.

Bye :o)


	7. Ifs, Buts and Maybes

A/N: Hello all

Now that I've got over my little funk, it seems to be rolling. Hopefully it would stay that way.

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7. Ifs, Buts and Maybes.

Prue had decided to use her current outsider position within the house constructively and immersed herself in her work. She had been down in the darkroom for sometime and planned on remaining there, at least until Andy arrived back.

She had started to become concerned with the amount of time he had taken, until remembering the length some of Leo's trips took. Andy might not be a whitelighter but she assumed it must be somewhat similar.

So to pass the time, she was going through some of her assignments, grateful for the distraction. Hardly ever would anyone venture to the basement, especially knowing Prue was in the darkroom. Added to the fact they were all angry at her, she was guaranteed peace and quiet.

"Prue." she heard Paige call through to her.

_Well there goes my theory, _Prue thought, with a soft sigh.

"Yeah." she replied a little guarded, not wanting an argument at this point.

"Can we…um, talk?" her youngest sister asked carefully.

Prue clipped on the light, once making sure none of her photographs would get ruined. She then turned to the sheet that she knew Paige was standing behind. Prue pulled it open, to find a slightly stunned half whitelighter.

"Is it to talk or argue? 'cause if it's option two, I'd rather wait till later." Prue answered, while cleaning away some of her equipment.

"It's option one." Paige smiled, walking into the small room and looking along the hanging photos that were drying. "These are great, Prue." she commented, briefly forgetting her reason for being there.

"Thanks." her sister replied with a smile, as her head appeared just above the work table. She pushed something underneath, then stood back upright and looked at Paige, who was still gazing at her work. "So, you wanted to talk…" she stated.

Paige turned round with a small smile. "Yeah, I…uh, wanted to know if you were alright?" she asked.

"Me?.." Prue replied a little surprised. "I'm fine." she answered by habit. To Prue it was the most natural thing to say, whether true or not.

"You know, you say those words so often and I am still waiting for your nose to grow." Paige laughed softly.

Prue began to busy herself with some of the containers left on the side. "I'm fine, Paige, honestly."

"I'm not mad, Prue, if that's what your thinking…" the youngest responded, figuring out why her sister was being so distant. "…I understand. I can't say it was right, but I know why you did it. I'm just kinda grateful Piper had at least one of us…"

The eldest Halliwell turned to face Paige, who smiled softly.

"Even though I'm a little miffed you got extra time to be world's greatest aunt…but I'll work on that and I'll soon take the crown, you wait and see." the youngest added with a smirk, playfully glaring at her oldest sister. "By the way, that photo there is the best." she pointed to one hanging up, before leaving the room.

Prue smiled to herself and shook her head in a slightly disbelieving manner, while watching her sister walk away. _Trust Paige, _she thought, wandering over to the photo her baby sister had pointed to.

She gazed at it for a moment, before pulling it off the line. It was of all four of them before the battle…before the entire mess. Although she had gotten Paige's forgiveness, a little part of Prue kinda wished it was Phoebe's.

Not that she didn't cherish Paige. It was just when Phoebe and her fought, it brought back far too many bad memories and with it, an insecurity that maybe one day Phoebe wouldn't forgive her.

---------

Cole walked back through the front door of the Halliwell manor, after spending sometime thinking. He had strolled around the neighbourhood for what seemed like ages.

He went to the kitchen first to see if Phoebe had returned yet. Instead he found a very tired and pensive Piper.

"Hey." he greeted, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hey." the pregnant witch replied, looking at the demon and then passed him. "Where's Phoebe?" she asked, not hiding the worry in her voice.

"I, uh, don't know. We kinda got into a fight and we both stormed off." Cole answered.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault." Piper apologised, resting her head in her hands with a noticeable sigh.

"Actually, Phoebe's blaming Prue at the moment."

Piper looked up at him. "Again, my fault."

"It's okay, I'll go find her." the demon replied, heading for the door.

"Cole, which way did she head?" she asked suddenly.

"Um, she turned right, then she went down the second road on the left…I'm not sure after that I'm afraid." Cole answered.

Piper climbed out of her seat. "I think I might know where she is….would you mind if I went?"

"No, that's fine. She's probably less likely to pummel you." he smirked.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Piper responded, heading for the front door. "Thanks."

----------

"Hiding never was your strength."

Phoebe spun round at the sound of Piper's voice, only slightly surprised that her sister had came. "Neither was keeping secrets." she bit back, causing Piper to breath out heavily.

The eldest sister took a seat on the swing next to the youngest. They were in the local park, which was Phoebe's sanctuary when they were little. Often when she had had a row with Grams or Prue, Piper would find her at the swings and if not there, she wouldn't be far away.

"Pheebs, I'm sorry." Piper stated thoughtfully.

"I don't know why, you obviously don't think you can trust me."

"Phoebe, that's not true." she responded to her sister's words, who turned to face Piper.

"Why didn't you tell me then?" Phoebe replied, unable to hide the hurt in her voice.

Piper looked down at the floor, trying to distract herself from the pain she had caused her younger sister. "I didn't want you guys to know. I believed if I kept it to myself, I could go to the battle. I wanted to be there for you all."

"But then why tell Prue?" the original youngest questioned.

"I didn't tell her…. Do you remember when you first got drunk and spent the majority of the night in the bathroom?" Piper asked, playing the night as if it happened yesterday.

"Yeah…" Phoebe laughed, although at the time she didn't even crack a smile. "…Prue came in with a glass of water and gave me twenty questions? Not that I could answer most of them."

"Yeah, well, I could…and along the way it came out… Phoebe, I know you won't see it this way, but Prue was just doing what I asked of her, the same she did for Paige and the same she would do for you."

"She should have told us." the younger of two replied stubbornly.

"No, I should have done." Piper argued.

"You both should have done."

Piper sighed again. "Phoebe, I made the choice. It may have been the wrong one but it was made. You, of all people, should understand about the choices we make and sticking with them."

"If you remember rightly, Piper, none of you understood my decision, especially not Prue." Phoebe replied heatedly.

"Is this what this is? Pay back for Prue not accepting your decision over Cole?" Piper shot back in the same tone.

"No." Phoebe answered, with a small glare.

"Then what is it?"

"You were my one thing that hadn't changed. You were my safety net." she answered, trying hard to not just run away from the situation.

Piper looked stunned and watched Phoebe for a moment. "Sweetie, can you explain? 'cause I'm not following."

"Everything is changing…fast. It's scary and makes me feel completely insecure." Phoebe answered.

"Pheebs, most of these changes are good for us."

"I know…but don't you ever wish for the days where it was all simpler." she smiled wistfully.

"Sometimes, but then I'd never have what I have now." Piper replied with the same expression. "You wouldn't be with Cole; I mean your relationship isn't exactly simple." she mused.

"Well, that's another change." Phoebe muttered.

Piper looked sharply at her sister. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, really I should be on cloud nine." the younger of the two explained, but when Piper raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, Phoebe realised why her sister looked so lost. "Cole asked me to marry."

"That's great." the pregnant Halliwell replied. "Wait, why is this a bad thing? You love Cole, right?"

"Of course I do, but what if I'm useless at being a wife? What if we end up getting divorced? What if-"

"-you never try and end up regretting it." Piper cut into Phoebe's ramble. "Phoebe, you have far to many _ifs_ and living by them will only hold you back. It's your decision, sweetie, but you need to stop listening to this…" Piper prodded her sister's head. "…and start listening to this." she indicated to Phoebe's heart.

Phoebe smiled. "What happens though, if this…" she prodded her sister's head, mimicking Piper's actions. "…won't let this…" she then pointed to Piper's heart. "..decide?"

"You just used _if _again…and _ifs _only leave you with a migraine." Piper grinned.

"Well that clears it up." Phoebe sarcastically shot back with a small laugh.

"Maybe you should get another opinion."

"You want me to talk to Prue." Phoebe translated, with a little smile.

Piper stood form the swing and kissed the top of Phoebe's forehead. "You are so smart."

"I'll see what I can do." her sister responded, who wondered whether her oldest sister would speak to her anyway.

"That's all I ask." Piper smiled. "You wanna walk back with me, give me all the details moment by moment?"

"Would you mind if I stayed here a little while longer? I kinda need to think some stuff through." Phoebe answered.

"Sure, sweetie, just hurry back or I'll have to question Cole."

"I will, promise." Phoebe grinned, watching as Piper left the park.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and support with this.

I'm now going to go to work and let you guys go.

Bye.


	8. Discussions of the Heart

A/N: Hello again lovely people. Hope your all well and everythings peachy.

I also hope you like what your about to read...

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8. Discussions of the Heart 

"Hey." Paige greeted Piper as she walked in through the back door. "Where you been?"

The youngest sister was currently rummaging the cupboards, looking for something she could eat. However, she gave up once Piper was there.

"I went to talk to Phoebe." her sister answered, with a slight sigh.

"How did that go?" Paige questioned, grimacing at the possibilities.

"Not too bad actually, you know we talked it out." Piper responded, then she looked at Paige thoughtfully. "Are you okay with me?"

Paige smiled a little. "Of course I am Pipe…I don't agree with your actions and I wish you would have told all of us. We could have kept you safe."

"I had my protection." the older sister smiled back.

"I believe you did." Paige laughed softly, knowing Piper meant Prue was her protection.

At that moment the door to the basement opened and in walked the subject of their conversation. Prue, however, was too busy flicking through some of the photos she had just developed to notice them.

"Hey Prue." Piper greeted, having not really spoken to her eldest sister much, since breakfast.

Prue glanced up at the sound of her sister's voice, noticing Paige with her. "Hey guys." she replied, beforegetting distracted with her photos again.

Piper watched as Prue walked towards the dinning room and was worried she may have upset her sister. "Prue, you…uh, want something to eat?" she asked, not really knowing what else to ask.

"No thanks Pipe, got to get these sorted first." Prue answered in a distracted manner. Realising how dismissive she was being, the oldest Halliwell turned to face the other two briefly. "I'll be in the living room if you need me though." she smiled.

When she had left Piper turned back to Paige and sighed heavily at the obvious tension. "I think she's mad at me."

"No she's not." Paige replied. "Far from it. I just think she's a little stressed from the whole Phoebe situation. She'll be okay."

"Your not pissed at Prue too, are you?" the older of the two asked worriedly.

"No." Paige responded. "Me and Prue; we're cool. I don't agree with both of your decisions but that's all."

"If only they were all like you, Paige." Piper joked, patting her sister's hand.

"That's when you need to worry." the youngest laughed.

"True." Piper agreed with a grin, which she received a glare for. "Anyway, where's Glen?" she changed the subject.

"At a friends. With all the tension, he thought it was best he disappeared for a little while."

The pregnant Halliwell smiled softly. "Sorry."

"Hey, I don't mind. I'm a big girl, I could make him stay if I wanted to." Paige grinned, causing Piper to laugh quietly.

"Still-"

The rest of Piper's reply was cut off, as Phoebe walked through the back door.

"Hey." Paige smiled.

"Hey." her sister greeted rather timidly compared to her usual attitude.

"I thought you were thinking." Piper stated.

Phoebe nodded slightly. "Yeah, turns out I don't think, I dwell." she looked around the room, obviously looking for someone. "..um…where's Prue?"

"Living room." Paige answered.

"Oh, cool, I'll, um…go get her opinion." Phoebe replied, giving a small smile to Piper, knowing her sister would know what she was talking about.

As Phoebe left the room, Paige turned to Piper. "Opinion on what?"

"Cole asked Phoebe to marry her." Piper smiled, aware of her youngest sister's feelings on the topic of Cole.

"What?"

----------

"Hey." Phoebe spoke up, while walking into the very quiet room, in which Prue occupied at the moment.

Her sister turned at the sudden voice and was unable to hide the surprise from her expression.

"Give me a minute and I'll be out of your way." Prue replied, while beginning back away her photos and equipment.

"Prue, I don't want you to go…I wanna talk, actually talk." Phoebe took what was in her sister's hands and placed them back on the coffee table, before pulling Prue to the couch with her.

"What is there left to say? It's not like I can turn back time and start all over again." the oldest sister sighed, looking at her hands intensely.

"No, you can't. It always ends badly when we do." Phoebe smiled softly, before going quiet for a short time. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier…I was just-"

Prue shrugged before cutting her sister off. "Why? I mean you were right."

"My reasons may have been…but the way I went about it, wasn't." the younger Halliwell admitted. "I was just so pissed at being kept in the dark and because I knew Piper wouldn't have told us anyway, I kinda focused on you."

Prue nodded her head in understanding, then smiled a little. "I wasn't expecting a different reaction, Pheebs. I knew everyone would be mad at me."

"Then why go through with it?"

"Piper asked me too." Prue answered with a smile, realising the simplicity of the one statement, although it now had a complex consequences.

"She seems to be doing a lot of that lately." Phoebe mused, while watching as Prue's brow creased to show that she had lost her.

"What do you mean?"

"She asked me to talk to you."

"Oh." Prue barely said.

Phoebe smiled a little, while giving a small laugh. "Brought back some old memories."

"I never liked arguing with you Pheebs. Now, I hate it even more." the older sister replied seriously.

"..and people say we have nothing in common." Phoebe grinned, while Prue offered a small laugh and a playful roll of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Pheebs. I didn't intentionally set out to keep you personally in the dark." she finally stated.

"I see that now, just don't do it again."

"Okay." Prue grinned.

Phoebe mirrored the expression and then clambered closer to her sister, resting her head on her shoulder. "Good."

"Do you still blame me about Paige?" the oldest Halliwell questioned.

"No…" Phoebe answered. "..not really. I just don't like change and I kinda took it out on you."

"The changes are good, Pheebs…most of them anyway."

"I know but it's scary." Phoebe responded in her typical baby voice, causing Prue to laugh.

"It is…but we'll get through it, sweetie."

They both sat comfortably for a short time, while Prue fingered through Phoebe's hair.

"I…um…have something to tell you." the younger sister announced in a hushed tone.

Prue looked up sharply. "Your not pregnant too, are you?"

"Nooo. No, no, no, no….." Phoebe quickly responded, almost choking at the question.

"Well that's good news." Prue laughed, more so at her sister's answer.

"...Cole proposed."

Prue almost choked herself. "What?"

"Yeah." Phoebe smiled shyly. "He asked me to marry him."

"Um…uh, what did you say?" the raven haired Halliwell was stunned. _Great, Cole as potential brother-in-law. This should be interesting,_ she thought.

"I said yes."

"..but your unsure." Prue read into her sister's few words.

"I'm just not sure if I'm cut out to be a wife." Phoebe finally confessed.

Prue snorted slightly. "Like Cole knows how to be a husband." she laughed softly. "Phoebe, if your heart told you to say yes in the first place, a part of you knows you will be great."

"I guess, but how do I know…"

"It physically pains me to say this…" Prue joked. "…but you will never know unless you try. Do you love Cole?"

"Of course I do." Phoebe answered.

"Would you want to live the rest of your life never having married Cole?"

"No." Phoebe responded without really thinking it through, surprised at the certainty in her voice. She looked to Prue, who smiled despite the part of her that was concerned.

"I think you made the choice your heart truly desires, honey." Prue kissed the top of Phoebe's forehead and pulled her closer. "See, change can be good. Scary but good….Just be careful with that heart of yours."

Phoebe laughed faintly. "I will."

"Good."

A sudden light appeared in the room and both sister's watched as Leo materialised in the typical blue and white orbs. Prue felt her stomach twist as her eyes fell on her brother-in-law.

"We need to talk." he instructed.

"Leo, about earlier, I'm sorry I never-" Prue began, sitting up from her comfortably position on the sofa.

"I'm not here to talk about that, Prue." Leo responded.

"What's it about then?" Paige asked, walking into the room with Piper following.

Phoebe shot them both a glare, knowing they had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Prue.

"Leo?" Piper asked carefully.

The whitelighter swallowed hard and a glanced down at his feet quickly, before looking back at Prue.

"It's about Andy, Prue..." he eventually began to explain.

The eldest Halliwell's heart sunk and panic over took, as she glanced around the room. She would have jumped up at that moment but she found herself held in place by Phoebe and Piper, while Paige placed a hand on her oldest sister's shoulder, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"…Their not letting him return." Leo finished, watching as Prue;s world crumbled.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm kinda going to run now, as I'm predicting a few unhappy readers. 

Thanks for all the reviews; love all of them and the diamonds that send them!

Bye!


	9. Believe

A/N: Hello all.

I'm a bit bored at the moment; lots of rain and work...always the way, ain't it?

Anyway, that's not why your here...

* * *

9. Believe 

"They what?" Paige shrieked, anger storming in her eyes.

Leo recoiled slightly at the tone. "I'm sorry, Prue." he replied instead, as the eldest Halliwell sat completely still, feeling as though she had just been punched in the stomach.

"Why?" Piper asked.

"They wouldn't tell me the reason, only told me to inform you all that Andy won't be returning." the whitelighter answered sombrely, hating being the messenger.

"We have just busted our asses for Them and They go and do something like this!" Phoebe raged.

"What do we do now?" Piper questioned the group, not planning on giving up on getting Andy back yet but not having many ideas herself.

"I say we do what you did." Paige responded. "We strike."

"I agree." Phoebe added.

"No we don't…" Prue finally spoke up, having formed her own plan. "..First I need answers." she stated and stood from her seat, heading for the front door.

The three younger Halliwells and Leo shared a look before following her.

"Uh, Prue, where are you going? To get answers, we need to go Up There." Phoebe questioned her eldest sister, not seeing the logic.

"No, we don't because They are likely to just send us away. I have something else in mind." Prue replied, while grabbing a jacket and her keys.

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Do you mind sharing?"

"You guys, try calling him or something…although They've probably already thought of that." Prue spoke the last part more to herself and glanced at Leo, who barely nodded, letting her know she was right.

"Where are you going?" Piper repeated the question, which was asked earlier.

"To get answers, I'll be back as soon as possible." the raven haired witch replied, shutting the door behind her.

"Why is that girl so cryptic." Paige vented to the closed front door, causing both Phoebe and Piper to smirk slightly.

Phoebe glanced between Leo and Piper, then finally gripped Paige's hand. "Come on, sweetie, we'll see what we can find in the book."

"What, like a spell to trap Andy in this house for all eternity?" the youngest Halliwell spat sarcastically.

Phoebe shot her a look and then tried to subtly indicate to Piper and Leo, who needed to work some of their own problems out. Paige, however, gave away her faint attempt, as she turned to look at her sister and her brother-in-law quickly.

"Oh.." she stated in realisation. "…right, yeah, the book. Let's go Pheebs?"

Phoebe gave her baby sister a glare for her total lack of reserve to the subject, before she found herself being dragged up the stairs by a very eager Paige.

"Maybe we can find a spell to cover the Elder's in chicken pox…or boils, there nasty." the youngest was rambling.

----------

Piper and Leo watched the two younger Halliwells leave them alone. Both glanced at the other for a split second, then looked away again.

"So…um…" Leo began. "..do you think Prue will be okay?"

Piper finally gazed up at him. "I don't really know, she barely got through the first time she lost him…" she couldn't imagine what she would do if the Elder's suddenly decided to take Leo from her once more. "..I would have liked to know where she was going though."

"I can, you know, go find her…if you wanted." he offered.

"No, it's okay. That'll probably piss her off even more." Piper smiled pleasantly. "..but thanks for the offer."

Silence filled the air between them, as they just looked at each other.

"So, do you want something to drink? I've got iced tea in the fridge." she asked him. "We could talk."

"Yeah, I think we should." Leo smiled, following his wife into the kitchen.

Piper pulled the jug out of the fridge and poured two glasses out, while he took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Are you still mad?" she asked rather timidly.

"I've calmed down from earlier but I still can't believe you and Prue were that stupid." Leo replied, as Piper placed his glass in front of him.

"I'd believe it." Piper smiled a little. "It's kinda a Halliwell thing. Act now, think later."

"Well it could have got you and the baby killed." he shot back, not really finding her comment funny.

"Yeah, well it got someone else killed instead." she muttered, which caused Leo to go quiet. However she did detect a very slight bitter sigh escape his lips.

"Leo, why do think Prue came after the Source when he had hold of me? It wasn't just because of me…it was this little thing in here." Piper continued, indicating to the small bump of her stomach. "..she told me before the battle, that I shouldn't go because of the guilt she would feel of not demanding I stayed. Now, because of my own pig-headedness, I still went…thinking of the guilt I would feel if I didn't go and if something was to happen…and in the long run, I got my sister killed because I didn't listen.."

Leo gazed at Piper, watching as a tear slipped down her face.

"…I knew the risks of myself going, I didn't consider the risk of anyone else. It was my stupid decision, not Prue's. She stuck by me because she knew if she didn't, I'd be on my own. I wouldn't have listened to her and I wouldn't have told anyone else." she finished.

"But you both should have done." Leo responded.

"In hindsight, yes….but when your this protective of a family, Leo, sight goes out the window." Piper smiled softly.

"I want to be that protective of you and our baby…I just don't want you taking unnecessary risks and I don't want your sisters covering for you." the whitelighter replied, showing the determination in his voice.

"I want to be protected by you Leo…but I needed to be there and you wouldn't have let me."

"No kidding, Piper." he sent back with a small smirk.

"Okay, I am sorry. I will never do it again, without you there to keep me safe." she smiled.

Leo took her hand and pulled her to him, letting her sit on his lap. "I want you to keep that baby of ours safe. Your not keeping me in the dark anymore, I'm taking over Prue's nagging and worrying and we're going to do this together. Okay?"

"Okay." Piper beamed, giving his lips a quick peck.

"Okay." he mirrored the expression. "..and don't think your of the hook. I'm still annoyed, I've just realised though that we kinda need to stick together. The whole family."

"For Prue, you mean?" Piper asked.

"That is one thing. Something's going on Up There…and Their not willing to share." Leo answered.

"So would I then have your permission to kick some Elder ass?"

The whitelighter grinned. "We'll see what They throw at us first? They still have power over me too, remember."

"I'm not letting you go." Piper responded quickly and full of strength.

"I don't plan on going. I'm going to be here for you and our little Wyatt."

"Excuse me, Wyatt? Don't you mean Halliwell?" she shot back.

"Compromise." Leo stated with a smile. "How about Halliwell-Wyatt?"

"I love it." Piper beamed, finally kissing her husband. "Little Halliwell-Wyatt."

----------

"Krolan!" Prue called, as she stood at the lake. However this time she wasn't watching the cool and eerie water, she was looking up at the sky. "Krolan! You get your Elder ass down here now!" she yelled.

Prue was grateful the camp was closed, otherwise she would have some major explaining to do. She chose the lake, rather than the manor, because she didn't want her sisters to interfere. Added to the fact that the lake was the first place she met Krolan outside of the manor, she thought it would be a logical meeting ground.

"Krolan!" she called again.

A light appeared and began to materialize into the surprised Elder, who was once more, not in his Elder robes, throwing Prue of slightly as she remembered the first time they met here.

---

"_Hey." somebody said behind her._

_Prue automatically wiped her face before turning to face the person. A small smile spread on her face as she saw who it was._

"_Hey." she replied, then tilted her head in puzzlement. "Where's your white gown thing, you Elders like to wear?"_

_Krolan walked round the front of the car and sat down next to her. He was dressed in plan jeans and a white t-shirt, showing the surprisingly toned body, he kept hiding. To Prue he looked even less of an Elder, making her attraction grow. This is getting very complicated, she told herself._

"_Less conspicuous down here….plus it's more comfortable." he replied with a smile, which was returned._

_---_

"Prue, why-"

His voice brought Prue crashing back down and she advanced towards him, cutting him of from completing his sentence.

"You asshole!" she shouted. "You complete and utter asshole!" Prue swung her hand round, which collided with his face with a crack.

Krolan looked at her with wide eyes, while he touched his stinging cheek. "What the hell have I done?"

"Oh don't pretend. The least you could do, is not deny it." Prue sneered back, although a part of her wanted to ask if his face was okay, noticing the red welt that began to appear.

"Prue, I have no clue of what you are talking about." he responded, bewildered by the whole thing.

"Don't lie Krolan! Don't lie to me!" she yelled, moving forward and pushing on his chest, causing the Elder to stumble back.

"Honestly, Prue-"

He was cut off again, as Prue pushed him harder realising a small amount of telekinetic energy. Krolan felt himself lift from the ground and sail through the air, finally hitting the ground with a bang to his head.

Prue worried for a brief moment as he never moved. However when she saw him lean onto his arm and push himself up, the worry once again turned to anger.

"Was this some twisted game to kick me in the teeth 'cause I told you it would never work between us?" she moved towards him, with anger burning throughout her body.

Krolan was now standing, although still a little wobbly from his first flying experience. "I haven't done-" the Elder never finished his argument and disappeared quickly, as Prue drew back her arm, ready to throw him again.

"That's right, run you coward!" Prue screamed. "You come and destroy my life…my world!…"

Prue next found herself with her arms being held behind her back tightly.

"I would never run from you when your like this." Krolan spoke with concern in his voice. "..but it's hard to help you if you won't even talk to me."

"Let go off me! I don't want you anywhere near me." Prue sneered, struggling to break free.

"Prue, please." he begged.

The eldest Charmed One had had enough and placed her leg inside of his. Before Krolan realised what she was about to do, he found himself lying on his back with the wind knocked out of him.

"You stay away from me and my family." Prue warned, as she climbed back into her car. She wiped the tear from her cheek and started the engine.

Krolan watched her for a moment, then breathed in heavily and disappeared again.

Prue went to pull away but stomped on the brake when Krolan stood in front of the vehicle. "Move!" she shouted.

"No! Not until you tell me what I have done." the Elder replied determinedly.

"Do you want me to throw you into that lake?" Prue threatened.

Krolan just stared at her, not budging.

When he stayed like that for a while, Prue jumped out of the car and moved to him. "I'll throw you in there, Krolan. Just get out of the way and out of my life."

"Fine, once you tell me what I have done." Krolan shot back.

"You stole Andy from me!" she suddenly yelled.

Krolan's mouth opened slightly, staring at her in shock. "Prue, I did no such thing."

"Yeah sure. What was it? You didn't want me to be happy?" Prue shot back with a glare full of spite.

"Prue, I swear, I didn't. I wouldn't do that." he defended himself.

"Well I've told you now, so you can get the hell out of my life." she spat.

Krolan watched as she climbed back into her car. He ran to the door and pulled it open, keeping her from moving.

"I didn't do it Prue. You may not believe it, but it's true. You asked me why things were given, only to be taken away again. I answered that I didn't know. Well, I want to know, but I need you to believe in me. The sooner you realise that, the sooner I can find Andy and bring him back."

With that Krolan disappeared from sight, leaving Prue alone at the lake. She dragged her eyes from where the Elder had been earlier and rested her arms on top of the steering wheel, lying her head on top of them. Prue let her tears flow down her face.

She didn't know what to believe. Was Krolan as genuine as she had always thought he was?

All she did know was that she wanted Andy back.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. They're VERY COOL and those who send them; major kuddos to you all.

I've never actually used the words _kuddos _before. I don't know if I like it, lol.

Anyway, thank you!

(thumbs up and big grin)

Sorry, I'm kinda hyped on caffine!


	10. Answers Never Come To Those Who Wait

A/N: Hey guys, how are you all?

Sorry for the delay to the this chap, it wasn't a funk again, promise...it was just time or lack of it. Anyway it's here...

* * *

10. Answers Never Come To Those Who Wait 

"This is useless Phoebe." Paige whined, as once again her sister began to flick through the ancient book for a second time. The youngest just wanted to kick some Elder butt, not spend wasted energy searching a book, which was no help. "We're not gonna get Andy back this way."

Phoebe turned sharply at Paige, while resting her hand calmly on the opened page. "I know that Paige, but until Prue gets back from wherever the hell she has disappeared to, I am going to continue looking. Is that okay with you?" she spat in sarcastic tone.

"Hey! Don't start on me. I didn't want to come up here in the first place." the youngest shot back, moving away from both Phoebe and the book.

"Then go. It's not like I told you, you had to stay." Phoebe retaliated.

Paige whirled around, her eyes instantly in a glare. "Actually you did. Downstairs, remember?...and in the hour we have spent searching, we have found nothing. Nothing!"

"Well at least it's better than the stupid ideas you've came up with!"

"Stupid? At least I've had ideas. You just keep flicking through a book, looking for something to jump out and smack you on the face. Well guess what, Pheebs. It's not gonna happen!" Paige argued back.

Phoebe slammed the book shut loudly, causing her sister to flinch very slightly. "I'm trying Paige! Don't you get that? I'm trying to do something before our whole screwed up family falls apart."

Paige sighed heavily and gazed at Phoebe more in sympathy than anger. "Look, I'm sorry okay. I just hate…."

"…sitting around doing nothing." Phoebe finished with a soft smile. "Impatience; a Halliwell trait."

Paige smiled a little at the comment, but it soon faded again. "Why do They do this to us, Pheebs? We bust our guts for Them and our reward each and every time is to be kicked in the teeth."

"I don't know, Paige…but I'm scared…" Phoebe sentence was never finished as she spotted someone at the door to the attic. "Hi." she greeted.

"Hey." Cole replied and glanced between both sisters. "What's going on?"

Paige looked from Cole to Phoebe. "I'm going to go find Prue." she announced.

"Is that wise?" the original youngest responded, knowing how her big sister reacts to being interrupted.

The half-whitelighter shrugged. "She needs someone, Pheebs. I'm going to go tell Piper." she turned and walked past Cole, offering a short nod to the demon.

Cole looked back to Phoebe, an expression of bewilderment covering his features. "What's going on?" he asked again.

Phoebe walked over to him, then pulled him gently over to the couch. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. It's just with everything…"

"Phoebe, that's not what's wrong." Cole smiled softly.

"I know. I just wanted you to know I was sorry." she replied.

"Well.." he grinned. "..I'm sorry too, but what's been going on?"

Phoebe paused for a while, beginning to fiddle with Cole's hand. "Um…The Elders have decided to keep Andy from Prue. They won't let him return."

"Is that what you and Paige were arguing about?" he questioned.

"Kind of. It was more of us both feeling useless. I mean we were there the first time Prue lost him and to have him returned, to only be taking away again…I just…we don't know what will happen." Phoebe answered, still playing with his hand.

"Everything will be fine, I promise." Cole replied, lifting her chin up to look at him more directly.

She smiled gently in response. "As sweet as that is Cole, we can't be sure."

----------

Paige materialised out of the mass of blue and white orbs, automatically placing her arms around herself against the chill, which welcomed her. She gazed around her, feeling a shiver run up her spin, this however had nothing to do with the weather.

She avoided this place. It held something for her sister, but for herself….she would rather be anywhere else.

Paige removed her eyes from the dock and allowed them to travel over to car that sat alone. Slowly she walked towards the vehicle, moving to the driver's side. Gently, she pulled the door open to find Prue leaning back against the chair, with her eyes closed.

The eldest Halliwell opened her eyes and glanced to her sister, not even attempting to smile or pretend she was okay. Not even having the energy to wipe the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Hey." Paige barely whispered, her heart breaking at the site of her sister.

Prue's only reply was to close her eyes again. That was the moment the youngest Halliwell heard a small choke and watched as Prue buried her head in her hands, sobbing.

"Prue, please don't cry." Paige whispered, pulling her sister in to her arms. It was a massive role reversal for the youngest Halliwell. She barely saw Prue in this state and she selfishly wanted her typical sister back. "We'll get him back. We will." she continued in a hushed tone.

However her encouraging words only caused a heavier sob and more tears.

Paige felt a part of herself crumble. How was she to be the strong one, when from day one it had always been Prue?

-----

A knock resounded on the door and Paige's head shot up in panic. _I've paid my rent, _she thought. _Haven't I? _

Ignoring the overwhelming urge to hide, Paige approached the door cautiously. After sighing heavily, she opened the door, while biting down on her lip.

On the other side of the door stood a woman dressed in a business suite, with short dark hair and piercing eyes, which caught Paige off guard.

"Hi." the woman smiled, when nothing was said for a short time.

Her voice caused Paige to suddenly realise she had been staring blankly at the stranger. Turning a slight shade of pink, she quickly diverted her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Um…hi." Paige stuttered a little. "..uh, how can I help?"

"Are you, by any chance, Paige Matthews?"

For some reason the question seemed more of a plea and Paige couldn't help but turn mildly defensive. "Why do you want to know?"

The woman smiled softly, taking Paige again by surprise. "I take that as a yes. I'm Prue, Prue Halliwell." she replied offering her hand out.

A part of Paige wanted to grab hold of the hand and pull the stranger into the emptiness of her life. However, she extended her own and briefly shook hands with the woman.

"So, you know who I am, but why are you here?" Paige asked.

"Would you mind if I spoke to you inside rather than out here?" Prue responded with her own question.

Paige considered this for a moment before stepping back and allowing Prue to walk in. "Sorry about the mess.." Paige apologised, somewhat embarrassed by her living conditions. "..wasn't expecting visitors."

"It's nice." Prue replied politely with a smile, while Paige began to collect things together and straighten them up.

"Yeah, well the roaches might agree with you." she laughed, a little stunned when she heard Prue laugh softly. However Paige detected a hint of nervousness and wondered if the woman would suddenly bolt for the door, screaming.

"So…" she continued, gaining Prue's full attention by the one word. "..would you tell me why you're here?"

Prue's smile fell and Paige could now see the nervousness emanate from her, although the stranger seemed to try hard to hide any sign that she was.

"Um…yeah." Prue barely said.

"Did you want to sit down?" Paige asked respectfully.

Prue nodded slightly and they both took a seat, while Paige gazed at her intensely.

"Can I ask about your parents?" Prue questioned in a small voice.

"They died." Paige responded in much the same way Prue had asked the questioned, however there was a thick layer of sadness and somewhat bitterness. She watched as Prue's face showed her surprise but also understanding.

Paige at that moment realised that Prue's understanding wasn't the usual type of sympathetic understanding. In the strange woman's eyes held a spark, as if she was reliving a moment. A similar moment Paige often found herself remembering.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Prue solemnly replied.

"It was a while ago now, things are okay." Paige smiled warmly, her eyes giving her lie away. However Prue, if she noticed, never mentioned it, something Paige was grateful for. "Anyway, they were my adoptive parents. Not that that should matter, I couldn't have asked for better ones."

"Do you know of your biological family?" Prue questioned.

"No." the younger woman answered, unable to deny that she wouldn't mind spilling her guts out to Prue.

"Would you ever want to?"

Suddenly Paige's defences shot up again, realising she was talking to someone she had only met minutes ago. "Why do you want to know so much? And why are you here?"

"Well…um…" Prue stuttered somewhat.

"Look, this may sound rude but if you can't tell me, I would rather you leave." was Paige's blunt reply.

Prue looked up at her, locking their eyes on each other. It was then that Paige realised the woman, that appeared strong and determined, would not be leaving anytime soon. Something Paige found oddly comforting.

"Paige, I'm your sister."

-----

Coming out of her daze, Paige began to pull her older sister out of the car and into the passenger side.

"Come on Prue, let's get you home." the youngest sister soothed quietly.

Once Prue was safely in the car, Paige took one final look around and then jumped in the driver's seat, glad to be finally leaving the place.

----------

The surrounding area was bright but Krolan had little time to admire it. He was on a mission to clear his name and bring Andy back to Prue, no matter how much it pained him to do so.

He pushed open the heavy doors with force that caught everyone's attention.

"Krolan, to what do we owe your rude entrance to?" an Elder sneered.

"Where is he?" Krolan yelled back, not wanting to show how much he had been hurt by Prue's words. Last thing he needed was the other Elder's speculating between themselves.

"And what is it of your concern?" another spoke up.

"When you use _me_ as the scapegoat, it is of my concern!" Krolan retaliated.

"Who said you were the scapegoat? Krolan." the first Elder sneered again. "You are the cause of this."

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it. Thanks for the reviews again, love them loads.

I'll let you all go now, 'cause I owe loads of people reviews, so catch you all later.

Bye.


	11. Falling One By One

A/N: Hi all.

I kinda say this with every post but...I hope your all okay:o)

Also thanks for all the support and reviews. It's great to know I'm heading in a direction you guys like. Thank you!

Anyway, the next chap...

* * *

11. Falling One By One

Krolan stood with his mouth open to some extent, trying to desperately digest what he had just been told. The other Elders stared at him, some with amused expressions and others with pity darkening their features.

The simple fact that they were enjoying his current position not only fuelled Krolan's anger but also his desire to wipe the smug looks right of their faces. The only problem, he needed to get to the bottom of their accusations.

"How is this, by any means, my fault?" he spat, returning the looks they sent with a scornful one himself.

"We must admit Krolan, it was not just you at fault." one replied innocently, while the sarcastic smile burned his face and any sincerity in his words.

A few others nodded in agreement, as another stepped forward. "Yes, you see, we returned Andrew to Prudence in the hope that the relationship between the two of you would cease. Then when you assured as your relationship was purely _friendship, _we had to rectify our reckless decision." the Elder's face twisted into a sympathetic smile, keeping the pretence of innocence.

Krolan's eyes flared at the news. "You can't do that!" he shouted. "You can not mess with peoples life's like that!"

"We had to amend our carelessness, Krolan. You must agree with that?" a taller Elder spoke up.

"No I don't!"

"Andrew was never meant to return to Prudence." a female Elder stated, not hiding the frustration and anger in her own voice.

"Then why do it?" Krolan yelled.

The first Elder moved forward. "We have explained our reasons."

"There pathetic! Along with the rest of you! You can not mess with people in that way. We may have the power but we don't have the right. Your supposed to know this, considering what _side_ your on." Krolan spat, unconsciously balling his fists at his side.

"Was it your right to grant Prudence life?"

"Is this what this is about?" Krolan found himself launching towards the Elder. However he soon realised he was being held back by another two.

"Don't Krolan." one of them whispered and when Krolan turned face to face, he was met by the first genuinely compassionate person.

He drew himself away and stared heatedly at the rest. "You can not punish her for my decision."

"We are not. We are merely correcting our mistakes."

"And using me as your cover while destroying any faith Prue had in me, as well as yourselves." Krolan scorned, trying hard to control his anger.

The first Elder smirked at the indignant attitude dripping from the younger man. "That was not planned…" he explained. "..just an added bonus."

The words hit Krolan like a ton of bricks and without much thought he lunged forward. Although he was once again being held back, only this time they were dragging him towards the door.

"This isn't over!" he shouted, still struggling with the two that kept him at bay. "You can't get away with this!"

Next Krolan found himself outside the room on the floor, with the only Elder he found to be understanding to his current state. In his rage, he had barely registered he had been brought out, let alone left on the ground.

The older man knelt down by Krolan and smiled softly. "She'll have faith in you always, Krolan. You just have to work with her. As you said it is not over." the smile he held grew slightly, while standing from his position. "Nothing is finalised, not even death." with his final words, the Elder left.

Krolan faintly smiled at his words, before picking himself up and he gave one last glance towards the doors, which kept the cruel and righteous world of the Elders at a distance. He knew he would have to face off with Them eventually but for now….he needed to get someone's faith back.

----------

Piper stood in the hallway of Halliwell manor, watching the closed door of her older sister's bedroom. It had been almost two days since Paige had brought Prue home from the lake and the eldest sister had yet to immerge from her room, which only caused Piper to worry.

She would bring Prue food but each time she returned, it had barely been touched. Added to the fact Prue hadn't responded to any of her sisters; Piper's worry was vastly growing into panic.

"She'll be okay, won't she Pipe?"

Piper turned to the sound of Phoebe's troubled voice and noticed her sister's eyes were also immediately fixed on the same door her own were held a moment ago.

"I hope so." she replied in a hushed tone, allowing her eyes to travel away from Phoebe's face.

"I want her back." Phoebe whispered, trying to hide what little comfort Piper's words had.

"She will be." Piper nodded and began to move away before she drove herself insane.

Phoebe gave one final glance towards her sister's room and then began to follow Piper down the stairs. "Piper, she's been hiding away for too long…with the Book of Shadows no less. We don't know what she could be doing with that."

The pregnant Halliwell spun on her younger sister, wanting to scream and shout, showing she was terrified at this point in time. "Phoebe, we will sort this out, okay? It's not like Prue will do anything stupid." was her calm response instead.

"Are you so sure? She knows that book pretty well." Phoebe replied, remembering Piper's trip to Hawaii about two years ago.

"Look Phoebe, stop it. We will all be fine." Piper forcefully stated, wanting the topic dropped. To emphasise the point, she left quickly.

"Hey, what was that about?" Paige asked carefully walking through the front door, catching the glimpse of Piper's back and Phoebe's frustrated sigh.

The original youngest turned to face her and raised her arms a little, allowing them to fall heavily to her side again. "Let's just say that when one falls, it not long before the rest of us follow."

Phoebe walked away, not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.

Paige sighed deeply and looked to the stairs. She dropped her bag to the ground and began moving steadily to the second floor. Approaching Prue's door, Paige knocked quietly but didn't wait for a reply, certain she would never receive one.

Pushing the door open, the youngest Halliwell found Prue sat on her bed with the Book of Shadows in front of her. The eldest sister was attentively reading each page before turning to the next one, too absorbed in her task to notice anyone around her.

A part of Paige wanted to grab the book and throw it out the window, however her more compassionate side won out. She moved quietly over to the bed and sat down next to Prue, who barely noticed her.

"Hey Prue." Paige softly greeted.

----------

Krolan stared at the view from a top of Golden Gate Bridge, calmly seeing over the passing cars.

Suddenly the familiar light of orbs formed on his right, however Krolan never turned to face the new arrival. Instead he chose to keep his eyes fixated on the ground below.

"Do you reckon it would hurt?" he asked allowed.

Leo moved to his side and gazed down, the same as the elder he stood by. "I hope your not considering it. We kind of need you Krolan."

Krolan laughed softly before turning to the whitelighter. "It's always being considered. I have to admit though, more so lately."

"Is this why I have been called?" Leo questioned gently, causing Krolan to smile softly.

"No. I have too much to amend first."

"Prue." the whitelighter responded with a sympathetic smile.

Krolan's smile brightened slightly. "It sounds so simple."

"Did you have anything to do with Andy?" Leo asked, trying to hide the accusing tone in his voice. No matter how much he liked Krolan, Prue was family and that meant more to Leo.

"No, I swear….but it's good to see Their plan is working." the Elder muttered the last part bitterly.

However his words caught Leo by surprised and a puzzled expression formed on his face. "Who's plan, Krolan?"

"Leo, I never even knew They were returning Andy to Prue and I certainly wouldn't take him from her, considering the last time that happened." Krolan answered.

"What do you mean?"

"The others. They didn't like how close Prue and I were getting, so They returned Andy, in the hopes it would demolish any _relationship._" he spat with a huge sigh. "After what I did, They called me and I told Them there was nothing between us. It was then They recalled Andy."

"They set this up?" Leo continued to ask, finding it difficult to comprehend.

"Yes. Either way, They win. Prue hates me." the Elder mumbled and glanced back at the cars below. "I would never do that to a person, let alone Prue."

"They used Andy?"

"Yeah. What amazes me is that Their impressed with the outcome." bitterness resounded from Krolan's words and his actions.

"Can we get him back?" Leo asked with a smile forming on his lips, readying himself to do whatever to get his family back on track. He hated what the Manor felt like since the incident. It was as if one false move and the walls around them would disintegrate into tiny pieces.

Krolan grinned back, knowing he could rely on Leo for support, especially concerning the Halliwells. "We can…but I will need Prue." he replied.

"Let me tell her sisters, they'll know best how to help."

"I hope so."

Leo prepared himself to leave, before turning back to the Elder. "Krolan, I don't think she would ever hate you."

Krolan smiled softly, as his eyes trailed back to the ground beneath them.

"By the way, it would probably hurt like hell…but to be human, live a normal life. I'm not sure if there would be anything better." Leo answered the Elder's first question.

"Spoken like a married man." the Elder grinned. "Congratulations Leo. You and Piper will never have the normal life but with your child, at least it will resemble some sort of normality."

"It kinda proves death is not final, huh?"

Krolan nodded. "For the lucky ones. You, Leo have a bigger purpose in your existence."

"If that is the case." Leo smiled gently. "Why was it so difficult for Piper and I?"

"Power scares Them, Leo. Always has done. Added to the fact life is…" he searched for the best words, until something hit him and a grin appeared on his face. "…a game of snakes and ladders, eventually the only way to get to the top is persistence. You and Piper are a shinning example."

"Snakes and Ladders?"

"Snakes and Ladders." Krolan nodded with a grin, remembering his conversation with Prue the first day at the lake.

* * *

A/N: Another over. I'm sorry; it wasn't good...but I'll workon it.

Again I would like to thank EVERYONE who has taken the time to review...and because of you lovely people I'vepassed the 100th mark. Thank you:o)  
It means alot to me that you.

Also I would like you guys to check outmy favourites fics; honestly there great andyour missing out if you don't, lol. :o)

Let you go now and remember...be safe, lol. (Me pointing finger)


	12. The Light Within The Darkness

A/N: Ohmigod! Have you seen how long it has been since I updated this! I am utterly sorry, this should have been posted before I went away but I'm afraid I only got the first part wrote and then...it all dried up.

But, I do now have a chap for all you lovely people who are still with me. (fingers crossed!)

Here you go...

* * *

12. The Light Within The Darkness

Paige felt a hand gently shake her. At first she wanted to slap the offending person away and roll comfortably back into the peaceful state she found herself being more and more pulled from. However the more she tried to resist, the more persistent the person got.

Slowly the youngest Halliwell began to realise she wasn't in her bed and had a blanket wrapped around her. She didn't remember going to bed. The last thing she did remember was walking into Prue's room, sitting down and….getting sleepy.

Paige opened her eyes quickly and sat up, gazing round the room.

"Whoa, easy there Paige." Piper whispered, placing a calming hand on top of her sister.

Paige looked to Piper and then down to the blanket wrapped around her. She gazed back at her sister with a bewildered expression.

"How did you do it?" Piper continued to use the hushed tone she had began with and nodded her head in the direction behind Paige.

The youngest Halliwell turned to try and find what Piper was getting at and then noticed the sleeping form of Prue laying next to her. Also something else caught Paige's eye. The Book of Shadows was closed and laying on the floor next to the bed.

Prue had refused to give up for the past couple of days and finally appeared she had. At that thought, Paige had a two feelings clash inside of her. Part of her was grateful her sister may return to the land of the living and another side questioned whether she had given up on Andy completely.

Paige turned back to Piper, who was gazing at Prue also. Then she smiled at Paige. "She's eaten too." she stated quietly.

"That's good.." the half whitelighter commented, using the same tone. "…but I didn't do anything. I fell asleep."

Piper laughed softly at the sheepish expression Paige used. "Well you did something and thank you."

The younger sister smiled lightly and then turned her gaze back to Prue, who hadn't moved or stirred. _Not that I think she would, _she thought, considering the lack of sleep her sister had had lately.

"Come on Paige, Leo has something to tell us." Piper announced, returning to the real reason she had woken Paige, who turned back after hearing what Piper had told her.

"Do we wake Prue?"

"No." Piper replied quickly with a shake of her head. "Let her sleep."

They both had final glance at the peaceful form of their oldest sister before silently exiting the room and closing the door soundlessly behind them.

----------

A pink flare of light brightened the darkened room, which held no opportunity for pure light to shine through and deter the shadows. There was only one faintly lit touch lighting one corner by the entrance to the dirty and dingy room.

However the brightness faded into Prue, as she stood in the centre of the room and surveyed her surroundings in bewilderment and somewhat irritation. Her nose crinkled slightly and looked down at herself, wondering how…or why she was there.

The how she answered with a roll of her eyes, knowing she had obviously astral projected, especially as she had the very slight woozy feeling that always seemed to be present when she used that particular power.

That understanding was soon followed by a groan, as memories of her more active astral-self came to the forefront of her overworked mind.

"You have got to be kidding me." she muttered.

Her own voice sounded foreign to her ears and had a noticeable scratch and croak from the few days of not using it. Prue coughed softly hoping that would lessen the strain that had seemed to have developed.

Movement could be heard in the far corner blanked by the shadows and she span in that direction, preparing for any attack.

"Prue?"

The eldest Halliwell froze at the sound of her name, finding the strain in her voice now unbearable.

"If your here to torment me, there's no need. I'm doing an outstanding job by myself." the voice spat, before walking into the dim light.

A tear rolled down Prue's cheek at the sight of him. "Andy."

"What? It's not bad enough you mock me that I can't be with her, that you've now stooped this low." menace edged in his words.

Prue, however, ignored them and ran into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. Andy automatically laced his around her waist and breathing in her scent, while kicking himself for his early accusations.

"It's you." he barely murmured into her neck.

"It's me." she confirmed, pulling herself even closer and sniffing from the onslaught of tears that wanted out. "I'm so happy to find you."

"I'm happy to be found." Andy laughed softly, as Prue noticed the slight stubble on her skin. She pulled away and looked into his slightly darkened features, watching as a soft grin appeared on his face.

Before Prue knew it, he leant forward and kissed her gently. Naturally she responded, pushing all her questions to the back of her mind and finding herself clinging to him, scared he may disappear.

Finally they pulled apart and both mirrored a beaming smile, although Prue's slowly faded as reality hit her when she once again became aware of their surroundings.

"Your breakfast got cold." she said trying to make it sound as if a joke, however it only came out as a sigh.

Andy felt his heart break at the disappointment in her voice, even though he knew she would never blame him personally. "Prue, I am so sorry. I..I should have.."

"Andy it's not your fault. It's _Theirs._" she spat.

"I should have stayed."

"What? So They called rip you away like they did to Leo. Eventually Andy, you would have been taken, by choice or not." Prue responded in a determined manner, again something that felt a little abnormal for her lately.

Her words caused Andy to gaze down, knowing that by agreeing to be a Lighter, he had consequently given his soul over to the Elders; one in particular he feared my have stolen his heart.

"Maybe this was Krolan's plan all along, comfort you and then swoop in." his voice had been quiet but that did not diminish the conviction that he supplied.

Prue backed away from him and pulled herself out of his arms, looking at him in disbelieve. "Excuse me?" hurt pouring out of those two words.

"Don't defend _him _now, not after _this_!" Andy gestured with his arms around the room he now found his 'home.'

"What about defending myself!" Prue retaliated. "I mean, is that how little you think of me! That I would suddenly fall into another guys arms out of grieve. It took me long enough the first time _and_ I wasn't even dating you!"

"I didn't mean…"

"Don't Andy." Prue warned, before he had a chance to explain. "Don't. I want to explain something to you and you better damn well listen. I. Don't. Love. Krolan. Believe it or not, you're the only guy I ever have…but at the moment your making too hard."

"Krolan loves you though." Andy argued, trying to ignore the sting her last words caused.

"Oh my God." Prue groaned in frustration, while taking a deep breath before she pummelled her childhood sweetheart. "For a start, no he doesn't. Secondly, even if he did, Andy, do you not trust me?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"No! No but. Your not allowed to but. If you claim to trust me, then why don't you do just that…and _trust _me."

Andy looked down at his shoes and then back up to meet her gaze. "I trust you with all that is mine…but you can't expect me to believe he has the best motives when I'm stuck here…away from you."

The eldest Halliwell edged forward slightly, closing the gap between them. " He wants to get you out. I told him I didn't want him near me and he said he can help."

Andy snorted slightly. _O' the gallant hero, _he bitterly thought. "And how is that, when his kind put me here."

"Have you considered the fact that They put you in here, maybe one of Them can get you out. If me and my sisters broke you out, They would push us even further away. You might not even have the pleasantries of the torch." she smiled softly, indicating to the only source of comfort in the shabby room.

He smiled back in return, before she continued.

"I don't expect you to trust him, but the least you can do is trust my judgements. I have spent the past few days reading the book cover to cover…and I think Krolan is the only way to get you out of this dump."

Andy moved closer and circled his arms back round her waist. "Why can't you just stay in my dump?"

"Andy, I love you but I also love the shower." she smirked, which grew at his indignant face.

"Are you implying I smell?"

Prue grinned. "Not implying, rather telling."

"Well maybe I don't want you in my dump." Andy smiled, trying to play it seriously.

"You would have me here in a flash and you know it."

"Speaking of which," Andy grinned. "You got here, how?"

"I believe my astral self has finally found a productive way to get my life back on track." Prue nodded her head once she had finished.

"We still have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?" he asked, puzzled by her statement.

"Once your back…and showered, we will have all the time in the world."

Andy nodded and then leaned forward with a soft peak. "So, you will work on my escape, while I'll continue to use the spoon the guy before me left in the corner."

Prue laughed. "We will get you out, promise."

"And Krolan…."

Prue groaned again.

"Hear me out…" Andy responded to her actions. "Please be careful."

"Andy, you have nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself and Krolan is only wanting to help."

"Hey, if he gets me out, I will be the first to shake his hand…but I just want you to be careful. Your going up against Them, which their not going to appreciate." Andy gently argued.

Prue smiled softly. "I don't appreciate Them stealing and locking you away. They've had this coming and it's about time we knocked them down a peg or two."

"Like I said, be careful." he reiterated.

"As long you are too." she beamed, pulling him close for another kiss.

Pulling away, Andy brought himself closer to her and rested his chin on top of her hear. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to leave either but…"

"I thought you said were not allowed buts." Andy teased.

"No, I said your not." she laughed, before finding his lips back on hers. It was then she felt a tug and cursed all of magic for having really bad timing.

Andy felt her tense and instead of breaking their moment, he concentrated on Prue's thoughts, knowing the reason behind her sudden action.

_I love you, _he projected into her mind, again feeling her tense.

_What? _he heard reply in shock of his actions, before he noticed her slowly fading and finally heard _I love you…_

The rest however was cut off, as Prue disappeared along with the pink flash of light.

Andy opened his eyes and sighed heavily at the now increasingly darkened room.

"So Andrew has a girlfriend." a sing-song voice mocked, from within the shadows. "..and Prue Halliwell, no less." they continued, not hiding the admiration lacing their words.

Andy's hands balled into fists at his sides. "Shut it Bane, before you have no teeth left."

---------

"Your telling me the Elders set this whole thing up?" Phoebe questioned her brother-in-law once he had finished explaining his conversation with Krolan.

"That's what he told me." Leo nodded.

"Okay, you all know, I'm all for Elder bashing.." Piper began. "..but would They really go that far. I mean are you sure it's not Krolan, you know, pushing the blame?"

"I was kinda wondering that too." Paige agreed before continuing. "..but what would he gain. He must know Prue would never trust another Elder. Also it was only like the two flirted."

At her words, Paige watched Piper's gaze drop. "Piper?"

Her older sister looked up and sighed heavily, feeling the increasing strain of a headache. "They kissed…a couple of times…but it was all over before we even knew Andy was back." she rushed out her explaination.

"Okay, I'm going to forget that we have just been informed of this.." Phoebe spat and turned to Leo. "Is Krolan the jealous type?"

"Come on guys, if he really cared for Prue, do you really think he would want to see her suffer?" Leo asked, trying to defend his friend, although he was condemning his bosses.

"So you believe him?" a quiet voice floated into the room.

All eyes turned to Prue, who still looked tired but had a small spark back within her own eyes.

"Prue.I..uh.." Leo spattered at being caught of guard.

"I need him down here." Prue continued, ignoring the whitelighters incoherent ramblings.

"Prue, are you okay?" Piper questioned, standing up to go to her sister's side.

The eldest sister nodded. "I'm getting Andy back."

* * *

A/N: There you go. I know it's a complete disappointment...but I tried. :o)

Danielle; Thanks for the review, glad you like my little thing. About how long until it is finished, I'm really not sure. I'm hoping it'll be just as long as Fight the Good Fight and after thatI have an idea for the follow up but whether I get done is another matter.Anyway, thanks for the review again and I'll try harder to get more updates going.

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, hope you all don't hate me too much.

:o)


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